7TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL

Saturday and Sunday, August 3-4

Join us in two days of pageantry, gaiety, and day-and-night fun that's unique to the Czech Festival in Wilber...the Czech Capital of Nebraska! As Czechs, we're proud of our heritage, proud of the Czech contribution to America, and proud of the fact that many of the early settlers of Nebraska were Czechs or of Czech descent. You'll enjoy the colorful parades, the traditional dances, the gay costumes, and mouth-watering foods from original old-country recipes-from duck, dumplings, and sauerkraut to kolackys. Share our age-old heritage and our pride in America during this Seventh Annual Czech Festival. Join us when we honor nationally-recognized Americans on Sunday, August 4, a special day set aside to honor veterans. Prominent speakers will be on hand to honor these patriots. It's all a part of the Czech Festival, 1968, in Wilber. Come and celebrate with us August 3 and 4.

for further information, write Jim Novotny-Wilber, Nebraska

Plan to come to Wilber!

4 NEBRASKAland

Speak UP

NEBRASKAland invites all readers to submit their comments, suggestions, and gripes to SPEAK UP. Each month the magazine will publish as many letters as space permits. Pictures are welcome. NEBRASKAland reserves the right to edit and condense letters.—Editor.

EARLIER OPENING -"Ihave been hunting in Nebraska for the past six years. But last year, I was disappointed. The pheasant season opener was too late. "Why can't the pheasant season open in the middle of October or around October 20?

"People like me who have to travel so far always hit snow going home and that is no fun, so as long as you are having a 90-day pheasant season, why not have some of it in nice weather?" — Erving Hanson, New Lebanon, New York.

"The dates selected for the various game-season openings are carefully considered since most pheasant hunting is on privately-owned land and it is essential that crop-harvest dates be considered. Farmers are often hesitant to permit hunting on their fields before the crops have been taken off. The corn and milo harvests will be under way by mid-to-late-October and during certain years will be far enough along to allow the season to open without causing a conflict, but during other years a season opener of mid-October would be considered too early by the farmers.

With this in mind, the Commission selected the first Saturday in November, November 2, as the opening date in 1968 over most of the state except in the south-east counties where the season will open the second Saturday in November, November 9. — Editor

COW-COUNTRY MEMORIES-"I have just read the April NEBRASKAland in which a picture of Front Street in Ogallala shows how it has been reconditioned as a tourist attraction.

"In 1916,1 located in Ogallala to practice veterinary medicine and shared offices with the Rodman-Woolery Real Estate Company on Front Street in the old Lone Star Saloon Building. At this time there were many of the Old Texas Trail old-timers still living. I remember well Mr. Ed Searls, Sr., the first agent for the Union Pacific Railroad, Lep Sanders, who came up the trail with a Texas herd in 1870 or 71, Charley Gifford, another Trail cowboy, and Mart DePriest, the first sheriff of Keith County. Many of the old-timers spent many hours in our offices, and the tales they told would make good (Continued on page 10)

JULY, 1968

SNYDER HOME SAVERS KEEPS OUT all "SEASONS" Anytime SAFE-GUARD Basement Window-Caps HELP! Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, Snyder Safe-Guard Basement Window-Caps KEEP rain/run-off water/wind/leaves/snow/and kids OUT! One piece molded fiber glass construction / translucent light green / allows 85% diffused daylight into basements. Three metal anchor rods permit easy ventilation. Safe-guard Caps fit snugly up to the house. Available in two universal styles and two styles for oversized basement windows. SNYDERS CAN KEEP IT OUT FOR YOU TOO! F.O.B. Lincoln $8.95 New SPLASH-GUARD Run-off Blocks ARE HERE! Easily moved for mowing —change run-off flow each time it's put back. Never causes ditches — grass-green up to house. Replace unsightly 40 pound-plus, often broken, blocks with this 33A pound smooth green Polyethelene block. Two metal rods secure the splash block into place. F.O.B. Lincoln $7.95 Write for complete Information today SPECIAL! Car-Top SHARK BOATS $115.00 up Snyder FIBER GLASS CO. 4620 Fremont Street Lincoln, Nebraska 68504 UNION NEBRASKAland's MONEYIand LOAN & SAVINGS ASSOCIATION 209 SO. 13 • 56TH&0 • LINCOLN 1610 1ST AVE. • SCOTTSBLUFF JULY, 1968 5

Plane With Nine Lives

by Lloyd Carr as told to NEBRASKAland

WITH SOME 37 years of flying behind me I have never so much as put a scratch on any aircraft, and that certainly entails a bit of luck. Especially when you consider one experience which occurred in my less experienced flying days.

It was a hot May morning in 1937 and I was flying over the Frenchman River Valley. My departure point was Imperial in southwestern Nebraska, and I was en route to visit relatives in Franklin, about 150 air miles away. My new, rented, high-wing, 50-horsepower monoplane was running like a top. The craft was behaving so well I decided to venture off course and visit an uncle in Almena, Kansas, just across the state line.

Almena had no airport, so I circled to get my uncle's attention and have him come out for me. Then came trouble. The engine conked out. Luckily, I spotted an alfalfa patch that looked OK for an emergency landing. As my hands tensed on the wheel, I made a reasonably smooth touchdown. All without knowing what was wrong.

After visiting awhile I returned to the plane. It started easily. Finding nothing amiss as I put the craft through its paces, I decided to give it a go. However, I had one major threat to overcome. Trees, 50 to 75 feet tall, stood at the end of the field. Revving the motor for all it was worth, I cut loose. The trees loomed ahead and for a moment it looked like curtains. I pulled back sharply on the wheel, and the craft just skimmed through the topmost branches. Then, the motor quit again. Now, I was really sweating it out. There had to be a flat field on the other side of those trees or else. There was. Easing back down, I bounced to a halt. The man upstairs was surely watching over me.

After checking for damage, and finding none, I started up. The engine never missed a lick, so I resumed my trip.

Twenty minutes later I discovered how shook up I had been. I was headed 180° in the wrong direction. Never before had I been so disoriented. Dismissing the incident because it was high noon, the easiest time to goof, I put the plane into a bank to correct my course. The ship, not liking that maneuver, sputtered and stopped. Another landing. Not knowing the cause of these temperamental stallings, I had no alternative but to continue to Franklin.

We were clipping along at 80 miles an hour as I crossed the Republican River and over Naponee, a town 10 miles west of Franklin. When my flying machine choked out this time, there was a smooth landing stretch.

I was really worried now. I had to find a mechanic to check out the craft, for I had already tried everything I could think of. Holdrege had a mechanic, so there was nothing to do, but try to make that town. The plane worked well, until I approached Holdrege. For the fifth time, it went kaput. Setting down wasn't any trouble, but my luck was running out. The mechanic no longer worked there. I should have quit then, and would have if I had known what was in store for me.

A friend of mine in Lexington was a mechanic, so I set a course north-westerly. En route, I experienced two more conk-outs.

In Lexington, Frank Barin, who still lives there, met me and we went over the plane with a fine-tooth comb, cleaning the carburetor, and checking everything possible. We didn't find any trouble, but we hoped we might have fixed it without realizing it. Perhaps something had been clogging the gas line. By now all I wanted was rid of that plane.

After refueling, I headed toward Imperial and for a while I thought it looked like I was home free. But my dream burst over Hays Center. Fortunately, the town's emergency field was right below when the rented plane gave up the ghost for the eighth time.

That did it. I hitched a ride into town, called the owner, and told him what he could do with that cussed plane. After what I had been through I preferred walking. Neither I nor the plane had scratch-one, and I aimed to keep it that way.

Later, I learned that particular craft had a tendency to vapor-lock. Since the day was so hot I am sure that's what ailed it. However, that hairy day had no effect on my desire to fly. Since that eight-force-down day I have had a great many more flying experiences. During the blizzard of 1949, we pilots worked 12 hours a day carrying supplies into isolated areas and getting the people out with no trouble at all.

Today, I own and operate the Overland Air Service in Sidney, and when people ask if anything exciting has ever happened during my flying career I can't help but recall that hot spring day three decades ago when I made eight forced landings and walked away from them all.

THE END 6 NEBRASKAland

Head for Harlan County...Where ALMA will be your host! Among all the towns in Nebraska, Alma is unique with a vacation paradise right at the foot of its main street. Located at the Harlan County Reservoir, Alma offers the finest walleye and white bass fishing along with all other water sports and recreation. This summer make Alma your vacation center. • Meyers Lounge Relax and dine in Alma's newest cocktail lounge. • Western Holiday Motel Parties, conventions, sales meetings, banquets, receptions. Alma Hwys. 183 and 383 • Vaughn's Cafe Fine Food Phone WA 928-2158 Open 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. • Peterson Marina Outboard and Inboard boats Outboard boating outfits Sporting Goods Alma, Nebr. 928-2133 • Don's Canoe Blended Boat Gas Open Sundays and evenings Alma, Nebr. 928-2252 • Patterson Harbor and Marina Boats, Motors, Gas, Trailer Park, I Cafe, Cabins, Bait, Tackle, Boat Ramp, Boat Stalls. Republican City, Nebr. South Side of Dam Road #3 • Cudy's Bait Shop and Motel Full line of Bait and Fishing Supplies Off-sale Beer, Groceries, Trailer Court East Alma on Highway 136 • Alma Industries Manufacturers of the expandable Lake and Shore Campers. Phone 928-2188-Alma, Nebr. • Arrow Lodge Alma, Nebr. Fishermen, Hunters...enjoy Harlan County Reservoir • Higby's Service Station Coin operated car wash. One block from Dock. Phone 928-2442 ALMA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

NEBRASKAland HOSTESS of THE MONTH

JULY Roundup

Fireworks, fairs, and fish add sparkle, but the biggest noise is rough, tough rodeo

COME JULY, Nebraska literally explodes with activity. The whole state bursts its seams as Independence Day fireworks add new excitement and sparkle to the skies. Bronc-busting rodeos, bang-up community celebrations, and good, old-fashioned county fairs help ignite a flame of fun from Brownville to Broken Bow and beyond.

Nebraskans and their visitors will celebrate the July 4, 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence in communities across the state. Firework displays, parades, carnivals, and community picnics are all in order for a true-to-the-west Fourth of July, but these various community events are far from stereotyped as they include everything from baseball to free pancakes.

Drumming hooves and tumbling riders accent the July action right along with the dazzling pyrotechnics. Sutherland combines the two in its annual Fourth of July Rodeo, July 3 and 4, as does Bridgeport with its rodeo and celebration on July 3, 4, and 5. But, whether a combination celebration or not, rodeo reigns as king in NEBRASKAland. Both Crawford and Johnstown set the stage for cowboy-and-critter action on July 3 and 4, while Morrill hosts the Morrill County Rodeo, July 4 and 5.

Small fry take a crack at the sport in Chadron during the Little Britches Rodeo, July 12 and 13. Broken Bow erupts with cowpunching activity on July 26 and 27 as it hosts the Central Nebraska Rodeo. Though not a blowout in the true sense, iron-tough steer ropers from around the nation converge on Ogallala for the National Steer Roping Contest on July 21. The state's Cowboy Capital will romp with excitement as man and beast clash head on in the arena.

While most of July's events are out-of-doors productions, Brownville steps inside to celebrate the opening of the Brownville Village Theatre, kicking off an eight-week-long summer session with "Charley's Aunt" on July 4. Last year, nearly 4,000 attended the theatre's 32 performances. This year, the showplace, sponsored by the Brownville Historical Society, plans on giving nearly 40 performances. Tickets for the various productions are available by writing the Brownville Village Theatre.

Fishermen can shed their jackets for sure during July for both weather and action will be hot. Harlan County Reservoir and Lake McConaughy traditionally offer excellent white-bass fishing throughout July. McConaughy is also a hot spot for walleye, while channel-cat fishing, always a Nebraska favorite reigns atop the state's angling list.

Old-timers will have an opportunity to show off their musical abilities and vie for laurels in Crawford during the Old-Time Fiddlers Contest on July 27, and on this same date, Harvard cordially invites everyone to its Summer Fun Festival.

Youngsters, age 11 through 15, keep the month's action literally rolling in York, as more than 50 boys are expected to compete in York's Fifth Annual Soap Box Derby, July 14. Participants come from miles around to compete.

First-place winner in the competition will go to Akron, Ohio, to compete in the National Soap Box Derby. Co-sponsored by the York Jaycees and a local motor company, regulations comply with national rules in allowing a maximum of $35 in building materials for the racer, and a maximum combined weight of 200 pounds for the speed buggy and its driver.

July kicks off an all-time favorite in NEBRASKAland-the old-fashioned county fairs. Western hospitality and fun are part of the fairs that feature everything from livestock-judging competition to mouth-watering homemade pies. Each county in Nebraska stages either its own fair or goes in with a nearby county, to produce some fine entertainment for the whole family.

There's always plenty to see and do at a county fair, whether it is large or small. Whichever the case, the "Where the West Begins" atmosphere is always present.

Horse racing, already in its fourth month of full-time action, sees the ponies finish their 46-day seige at Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha on July 6. Four days later, they move to the Capital City to resume action from July 10 through August 10. The Lincoln action will take on a little different look over other years, as the post time from Tuesday through Friday is 5 p.m., making every weekday twilight racing. Saturday's first bell, however, remains at the usual time of 2 p.m. Sundays and Mondays find the track quiet.

So hang on to your hat, partner, as swirling activity takes hold of NEBRASKAland throughout July.

THE END

WHAT TO DO

June 27-July 4 — Wally Byam Caravan Club International Rally, Grand Island 3-4 —Rodeo, Sutherland 3-4-R.C.A. Rodeo, Crawford 3-4 —Rodeo, Johnstown 3-5 —Rodeo and Independence Day Celebration, Bridgeport 4 — Independence Day Celebrations: Alma, Cambridge, Chambers, Friend, Gordon, Gothenburg, Howells, Humboldt, and Ralston 4 —Theatre Opening, Brownville 4-5 —Morrill County Rodeo, Morrill 5-6 —American Quarter Horse Show, Bassett 10 —August 10 —Horse Races, Lincoln 12-13 —Little Britches Rodeo, Chadron 12-13 —Camp-In at Crystal Springs, Fairbury 13-14-Czech Festival, Dwight 14 —AQHA Quarter Horse Show, Stuart 14 —Soap Box Derby, York 14-16-Midwest Fall Gift Show, Omaha 15 —4-H Achievement Day and Celebration, Davenport 16-17 —Sutton Harvest Festival, Sutton 18-Annual Chicken Bar-B-Q, Table Rock 18-20 - Old Settlers' Picnic, Western 19-21 -Stir-Up Celebration, Ashland 21 — Fine Arts Day, Brownville 21 — National Steer Roping Contest, Ogallala 22-25-Platte County Fair, Columbus 24-25 - Old Settlers' Reunion, Winside 25-28 —Frontier County Fair, Stockville 26-27 — Central Nebraska Rodeo, Broken Bow 26-27-Picnic and Parade, Diller 26-27-Old Settlers' Picnic, Litchfield 27 — Harvest Festival, Trenton 27 - Old-Time Fiddlers' Contest, Crawford 27 —Summer Festival, Harvard 28-31-Polk County Fair, Osceola 29-31-Valley County Fair, Ord 30-August 3 - Red Willow County Fair, McCook 30-August 2 — Dodge County 4-H Fair, Fremont 31-August 2 —Deuel County Fair, Chappell 31-Shrine Circus, O'Neill THE END JULY 1968 9

SPEAK UP

(Continued from page 5)

copy for your publication as there is much cow-country history in this section of Nebraska which should be researched and published before it is completely lost. I am sure there must be many that could be of help to your writers still around Ogallala."-Dr. Phillip T. Smith, Billings, Montana.

CANNED CARP-"In the October 1967 NEBRASKAland, Mrs. Clarence R. Hetrick of Douglas wanted a recipe for canning fish. I have a good one. I call it Salmon Style Carp.

"Cut the raw fish and pack in pint jars, as solid as possible. Put in one teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of salad oil. Do not add any water. Have jar lids finger tight. Process under 15 pounds pressure for 1 3/4 hours. Screw lids down as tight as possible and invert jars until cool. Store in a cool dark place." —H. H. Stiles, M.D., (Retired), Lincoln.

GREAT TIME-My son, John C. Gable and his family of Los Altos, California, won't forget the wonderful time they had at Fort Robinson State Park. During their stay, Bill, 8, and Kimberli Lin, 10, were in seventh heaven riding horses, hiking, riding the stagecoach, and letting some of that traditional western hospitality rub off on them.

"To top it all off, the trout fishing in the Niobrara River was excellent. The children creeled out and it was the highlight of their stay. Their father got a chance to sharpen up his dry-fly skills and as this picture shows, he didn't do too badly." —Martin C. Gable, Scottsbluff.

WORDS OF PRAISE-"Some of us wait too long with our thanks to those who have done good for the people of a state or community, and then never have the opportunity. Before you retire, I want to say that some of us Nebraskans are very glad to have M. O. Steen on our side.

"Add to that our pride of the people working in our community outdoor life developments, and we have pride in M. O. Steen. When a man is born in another midwestern state, goes to another midwestern state — then is lured to Nebraska to do such a fine job of bringing pride to a rather apathetic populace — that is really something. I do not know why we can stand and have things right in front of us, yet do not see those things until another points them out to us. You have been doing just that for several years. It has taken a lot of patience on your part to get us awakened to our outdoor potentials, so that we can develop them to the best of our abilities.

"We cannot hope to please everyone, so we have to set up what is right for the community and its people and let the chips fall where they may. Anything new has to be sold and you have done a good job of selling the people of Nebraska on their potentials of nature and its beauty. I would say that NEBRASKAland Magazine—whether it is operating in the red or black — is our cheapest advertising for our state, its beauty, and its people. That magazine is the best true picture of our natural beauty of any publication that I have seen, bar none. In black and white, it was good, but who can argue with a color picture? These pictures are not of one isolated area, but from many areas of the state." — Mrs. Jack Alden, Sutherland.

EFFICIENCY EXPERT - "For about 10 years a gang of us used to meet on the night before the opening day of quail season, and swap yarns.

"On one of these evenings, our host had brought a friend from a nearby Army post. This stranger sat patiently, listening to the tall tales.

"Finally, he shifted his chair a bit closer, and said in a very sober tone:

"Well, boys, you must have some very smart dogs, but none of them could beat the young pointer that I had. I took him out on our first quail hunt, and we worked our way into a mesquite-covered field. Suddenly, he came to a stop and pointed.

"I got my gun ready, and called, 'flush'.

"Up came one quail, and I shot it.

"Then I noticed that my pointer had not moved. Thinking that there might be another bird in the brush, I reloaded my gun, took my stance, and again said, 'flush'.

"Again, up flew a single bird; and again I shot it.

"This went on until I had shot 25 quail — the limit in those days.

"Curious as to how a dog could manage to flush only one bird at a time, I stepped closer to my wonderful pointer, and found that my dog had chased a covey of quail into a ground squirrel's hole and put a front paw over the opening. When I said, 'flush', he would lift his paw and release one bird." —Lynn Clark, Los Angeles, California.

NEBRASKAland

JULY, 1968 11

FACE into the WIND

by Judy Koepke Long-time dream, weeks of training, and "i'll-show-them" stubbornness hinge on moment of truth. Can I take that fateful step 2,800 feet down?

FIFTY-FOOT TROUBLES were right below me and unless some frantic prayers got an immediate answer, I was going to come down in the midst of them. Gravity was making sure of that. Unless a quick miracle came along, one expensive parachute and one mighty scared girl were going to be shredded on some ominous-looking tree limbs.

During my pre-jump training my instructor had hammered at me, "Stay away from power lines, cars, ditches, fences, creeks -- and trees." Now, the words were haunting me as I floated down.

On this, my first jump, everything was going wrong. The toggles on my chute seemingly would not respond when I tried to steer the canopy and instead of guiding my own destiny, I was a plaything of the wind and heading straight for the trees.

Another rule popped into my mind. Because of my angle of sight, I knew I would overshoot the trees that seemed to be approaching, undershoot those that were receding, and hit the one that was standing still.

One tree below was as stationary as the Rock of Gibralter. I didn't need any book to tell me that tree, parachute, and girl were going to have a sudden date. With three seconds left before my inglorious collision, I finally resigned myself to the inevitable, all the while wondering for the thousandth time what I was doing, dropping out of the Nebraska sky with nothing between me and a messy end but a single piece of orange and white nylon, 28 feet in diameter.

It all started last September when a former neighbor was making quite a racket in his apartment. It sounded as if he was kicking the place apart. When I investigated, I found him jumping off chairs to practice parachute landing falls (plf's). His "You really ought to try it" set off the whole thing.

As a young girl on the farm, I had harbored a secret desire to jump out of the hayloft door, and one time even took up a big black umbrella to use as a parachute for that awesome 20-foot drop. Fortunately, I never quite managed the courage to do it. Now 13 years later, the thought of jumping out of an airplane and floating down seemed like fun. After watching a jump I had to prove to myself that I could step out into 2,800 feet of nothing.

My determination grew, and in February I enrolled for lessons with the Lincoln Sport Parachute Club. Among club members who made this greenhorn welcome was Marion (Shorty) Janousek, considered JULY, 1968 13   the dean of Lincoln sport jumpers. Shorty started the club in 1959 and has over 700 jumps in his logbook.

Maurice Hoelting, my instructor, showed an amazing amount of patience with me. He was an enthusiastic teacher in spite of his claim that girls are slow learners. Certainly I was the slowest of them all. Ten thousand questions later I was able to talk knowingly of such things as tach time —the number of hours a plane's engine is running, which determines how much plane rental the parachutist pays for each jump — canopy, static line, toggle lines, and a hundred other terms which make up the jumper's working vocabulary.

At nearly every session, Morry strapped me in a parachute harness and hung me from the clubhouse ceiling. I was a ludicrous sight, but these sessions were important. I was learning to pull the rip cord, how to throw my reserve chute, and how to stabilize during the free fall. Time and time again, I went home after work to practice plf 's. I jumped off my landlord's picnic table forward, backward, and sideways, trying to keep my knees and ankles together and my elbows tucked in toward my chest as I rolled through each simulated fall. My landlord's toy poodle barked at my game every time.

Instructions went on for a month. Finally, after taking a tough examination, I was judged ready for that first jump. Then my jinx started working. I was mentally prepared for the big event which was scheduled for a Saturday morning. The night before I tried to sleep, but that was almost impossible. I called the club Saturday at 9 a.m. and got the disheartening news that the wind was too strong. The jump was tentatively postponed to Sunday, but then it was even windier. When Shorty broke the bad news this time he asked if I had any fingernails left.

"A few," I answered.

"Save them," he laughed. "You'll need them."

By now, my courage was spilling away like an armload of kindling. I knew I had better jump soon or I would wash out. Finally on Wednesday evening, the weather was right, so after work I headed for Agnew and my date with destiny. The butterflies were working my stomach over pretty good, and I kept remembering all the advice the office staffhad given me, especially the men. Ironic encouragement like, "We'll pick you up with a blotter—if the chute doesn't work, demand your money back —and we'll send you roses, but you probably won't be able to sniff them."

Seeing a fellow student make a fine jump and land almost on target strengthened my confidence. Now it was my turn. I donned paraboots with air-cushioned soles, coveralls, and my brother's motorcycle helmet. When Morry finished strapping on my parachutes, I looked more like a football player than a girl. Suddenly, it was time to board the four-passenger plane.

I was going to use a static line, an eight-foot length of nylon webbing. Morry attached one end inside the plane. The other end would automatically pull out the small pilot chute that would in turn pull out the sleeve and the main canopy. The pilot acted as if this was an everyday occurrence, but my butterfles kept fluttering as I clumsily climbed into the cockpit and squeezed into my allotted space.

All the way to our 2,800-foot altitude, Morry kept pointing out landmarks so I could orient myself while I floated down. Sitting on the floor next to the open door of the little airplane didn't help my morale a bit. Still it came as a shock when my instructor indicated it was either-or-else time. I decided it must be something like having a baby. When the time comes to do it, there is no way in the (Continued on page 53)

14 NEBRASKAland

Wildcat Currency

Lana Jacobs Banks made pretty money, byt it wasn't worth paper to print it 16 NEBRASKAland

THOUGH THEY DID take to the hills minutes after a stranger from St. Louis left the steamer at Nebraska City, the president and cashier of the town's Platte Valley Bank weren't absconding. Instead, they were playing for time. When banks all over the country began to fail in 1857, merchants at St. Louis who handled Inany Nebraska transactions sent this man to collect on the notes. The grapevine said the stranger was working along the Missouri River and had earlier closed down banks at Florence, Omaha, and Bellevue by demanding hard money for their pretty, but practically valueless currency. Each of these banks had issued its own currency and when the traveler demanded specie in exchange for the paper, he was met with sober faces and sorry denials. • Nebraska City did not give him that chance. With the bank closed and the steamer ready to depart for Brownville, • the stranger decided to return by stage the next morning. This delay gave the Platte Valley Bank officials enough time to scrape up the specie. With great confidence in the bank, its patrons immediately helped out by depositing all the gold and silver they had. #When the stage rumbled into town the next day, the Missourian went to the bank and demanded $2,000 in gold in exchange for the same amount of Platte Valley Bank currency. Joshua Garside, the cashier, explained that he was glad to exchange such a large amount at once because the bank was trying to recover its own currency. Hearing this, the stranger thought of the long journey before him and the heavy weight of the gold. If the bank had that much gold, he guessed he didn't have to take it then. • But all Nebraska wildcat banks were not so fortunate. A payday-rich cowpoke who could use his wildcat currency for gambling and drinking one week often found by the next that his currency could not buy a plug of tobacco. Banks failed and some bankers fled, but many settlers in the new territory had to remain and endure the financial woes caused by this shaky money. • The term wildcat currency, according to James McKee, an authority on the subject, first came into existence when a sheriff would pay a bounty for wildcats with county-issued scrip. Another name theory claims that "banks" were set up in the uncivilized wilderness or "wildcat" country where anxious investors could not easily locate them to redeem their paper. Eventually, the term came to mean bank-issued notes without backing by adequate security. Several chartered banks circulated money, but there were no safeguards to insure a bank's responsibility. Good money, backed by gold and silver, had a tendency to stay in the East. Some farmers and settlers in the West used the barter system, but the small-town business could not, so a currency was needed. To meet this need banks issued their own. Immediately, this currency followed Gresham's law, an economic theory in which "bad" money drives out "good" money.• Wildcat banking which brought about so many disasters ran into early difficulties when the first Territorial Legislature convened at Omaha in January, 1855. Most members had a negative attitude toward chartering banks that intended to issue their own currency. Only one paragraph of their criminal code was devoted to financial matters, but it was tough. •"Any person interested in issuing or circulating any kind of currency shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not more than $1,000". • Committeemen Mills S. Reeves and James A. Allen argued, "Who in his senses would think of entrusting money in the vaults of such institutions, if past experience would teach us anything? We would dread them as a highway robber, for hundreds who have had confidence in them have woke up in the morning and have found the body of the soulless thing had evaporated and there was nothing to represent their pocketful of bills but an old store, the counter, and a broom." • As a result of this antibank attitude, the first wildcat bank in Nebraska began as an insurance company, the Western Exchange Fire and Marine Insurance Company, incorporated March 16, 1855, in Omaha. This "bank's" 7/2 x 3/4-inch, red-lettered bills were officially the first to enter territorial domain.• Other bank-bill proposals in the first Territorial Legislature excited hot debate. A. D. Jones, representative of Douglas County, claimed to be the only legislator to have voted consistently against all of them. He even wanted his gravestone to read: •"Here lies an honest man—he voted against wildcat banks in Nebraska"© Allen H. Bradford, representative of Otoe County, and a large man with a squeaky voice, countered with this classic: •"He (Jones) talks about the time when we shall be a-look-ing down from the high battlement of heav-en. I wish he were there now, a-singing forever more, among the blessed, instead of being down here a-makin' speeches which don't do any good away out here in Nebras-ky." • No bank charters were granted until the second session when 5 out of 12 applications were chartered. On January 18,1856, the Platte Valley Bank of Nebraska City, the Fontenelle Bank of Bellevue, the Bank of Florence, the Bank of Nebraska at Omaha, and the Nemaha Valley Bank of Brownville joined the ranks of the wildcatters. • In the third legislative session only the Bank of DeSoto and the Bank of Tekamah were granted charters. Both were passed over the veto of Territorial Governor Mark W. Izard, who concluded, "It is better that one man should die for the state than all should perish."• Incorporation of the banks ended when the summer of 1857 brought financial panic. When eastern banks began to fail, Nebraska newspapers were the first to congratulate the state on its stable currency. But in time the panic closed nearly all wildcat banks in Nebraska.• Newspapers and politicians placed the blame everywhere but where it belonged. They were not too concerned that these banks were closed because they had no redeemable specie backing up their paper. Instead, sensationalized stories blamed failure (Continued on page 49)

JULY, 1968 17

Touch of Color

Unyielding to whims of harsh prairie, prickly plants exist to lend their eye-pleasing tints to rugged lands  

THE SAND HILLS are enormous caldrons of sun-blistered choppies in the summer and numbing cold in the winter. These broad expanses tolerate man's intrusion, but are unyielding to his whims. Still, the hills have a soft-spoken beauty that belies their ruggedness. From June through July, a legion of color marches across this undulating grassland led by the brashness of the lavender-flowered Canada thistle and the purity of the white-blossomed yucca.

Long ago, nature softened the prairie's normal harshness by cultivating an informal garden of cacti, yucca, thistle, and poppy. As rough as the blustering terrain they inhabit, not even winter's brutal forces can cow yucca and cactus. Even in January they wear a defiant green. Like the Sand Hills, their tough exteriors belie a hidden beauty, for when these prickly plants bloom, it is as if nature has spilled a palette of white, yellow, lavender, and purple paints over a land that leans toward shades of brown and tinges of green.

Few underdogs survive in a land where death is nature's harsh reality. Yet, for millions of years the ball and prickly pear cacti have fought to subsist. As rugged as the pioneers who settled the grassy hills, the cacti are the floral symbols of the West. Adapted to their dry environment, these plants, known as succulents, have tough waxy skins to protect them from a burning sun while their needle-sharp spines ward off grazers looking for an 21   easy meal. When infrequent showers settle the prairie dust, elaborate root systems gulp up water.

The sulphur-yellow blossoms of the prickly pear offer a gully-and-gulch parade of color from June through July. As the morning sun swaggers over the choppies the large, waxy flowers open to kiss the night adieu and welcome the bee, nature's winged gardener. Discreet in their beauty, most of the blossoms close after a day, never to open again. No loner, the prickly pear is found in most of the state, but concentrates in the Sand Hills and the Panhandle.

One of the smallest members of the cacti family, the ball cactus hides in a sea of grass or peekaboos around rocks in its chosen remoteness. This thimble-size succulent, blooming from May through July, is often missed by the casual observer. Though small, this cactus has the stamina of its heavy-weight cousins. The little dry-land aristocrat with its star-shaped spines and dainty flowers persistently cries for attention as it adds its fragrance to Nebraska.

The stately yucca or soapweed with its evergreen swords is a conspicuous prairie sentinel as its NEBRASKAland green-white blossoms bow reverently in the June or early July sun, only to open up under the cloak of darkness. Nature has struck a fine balance between this plains monarch and the tiny yucca moth. Only this moth can fertilize the soapweed, and in exchange the moth can use no other plant to lay her eggs.

Under the silvery sheen of a summer moon, the moth must work quickly, for usually the blossoms open for only one night, then close forever as the morning sun inches over the choppies. The busy moth flutters from plant to plant gathering pollen which is rolled into a tiny ball. When enough pollen is collected, the night flyer drills a hole in the yucca ovary, and deposits her eggs among the undeveloped seeds. Then, the moth climbs the stigma and forces the pollen down the long, funnel-shaped structure where it germinates and fertilizes the ovules. In return for the moth's labors, her larvae eat the seeds of the host plant.

Besides its beauty and strange life cycle, the yucca is also utilitarian. Its roots contain a saponaceous matter that when shredded and rubbed can be used as soap. The tough fibers of the plant were used for strings and rope by the Indians, while the leaves were woven into baskets.

In Nebraska's array of untamed beauty, the prickly poppy and Canada thistle are praised by some as effervescent jewels and cursed by others as noxious nettles. But they, too, have met the challenge of a ruthless land to lend their hues to the prairie.

The bold and brash Canada thistle with its lavender sun-burst flowers ranges throughout most of the state, often picking cultivated fields. Difficult to eradicate, the four-foot plant persists not because, but in spite of man. Another almost-weed that has fought off man is the prickly poppy. The huge, white flowers of the poppy, supported on a bluish-green stem, are an oasis of purity in the dark-hued land. This graceful, erect plant that blooms from May until August is found in many parts of the state.

In a land where life and death are part of nature's ruthless cycle, these plants have beaten the odds to add a touch of welcome color to the wild, free prairies of NEBRASKAland.

THE END JULY, 1968 23

CRAZY ABOUT MUSEUMS

If prowling the past is your cup of tea, this state is for you by Elizabeth Huff

DO YOU ENJOY prowling through grandma's attic in search of mementos of yesteryear? Do you get a special thrill from combing the countryside for some out-of-the-way nook that houses treasures of the past? If so, NEBRASKAland is just the spot for you. Here, where the WEST begins, there are close to 100 museums of varying shapes, sizes, origins, and purposes. From private collections of Indian relics and antiques to county historical museums to giant enterprises like the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer at Grand Island, there is something to stimulate the imagination of every visitor. Some museums are free; others have nominal admission fees.

Would you believe that a little town like Table Rock (population 422 in the 1960 census) has not one but three museums? This small southeast Nebraska community takes pride in its past and has gathered its old-time treasures for all to see. Its Old Opera House Museum is unique here, at least as far as a statewide survey by NEBRASKAland Magazine could determine. Located above a drugstore, the opera house is preserved as it was when built in 1893 — complete with the old stage, footlights, and scenery. A lifelike scene onstage depicts a pioneer family strolling through the park. In the history room are various old documents, including maps, histories of frontier families, and pictures of Table Rock of years ago. From the balcony, visitors can view the entire opera house and the display below.

Located a half block north of the Old Opera House are the Pioneer Museum and the Old Country School Museum. Displays range from a replica of the bluff and rock for which the town is named to many items dating to 1848. The country school, once Maple Grove School District 17, brings back nostalgic moments for anyone who ever attended such a school, for its displays are complete even to the apple on the teacher's desk. Owned and operated by the Table Rock Historical Society, all three museums are open from May 1 to October 1, as are many of the other small, locally-maintained museums.

Nebraska's Centennial last year reminded a number of counties of their heritage and awakened their interest in their pioneer antecedents. While it was established prior to the Centennial and opened to the public on July 4, 1966, in honor of Allen's diamond jubilee, the Dixon County Historical Society's under-taking at Allen is typical of the museums that blossomed as a result of the Centennial stimuli.

Sheltered in a small frame building is a collection of articles similar to those used by many a grand-parent or great-grandparent. Probably the oldest item on display is a wooden chest made in Sweden in 1803. It is not hard to imagine that it accompanied its owners on their long and dangerous journey from Sweden to the Great Plains. And, it no doubt once held the immigrants' clothes in their first Nebraska home, a soddy. Today, it recalls simpler days when a family's treasured possessions could all be packed in one wooden box.

In this day and age, no carpenter's toolbox would contain a piece of iron half an inch thick with 8 to 10 holes of varying sizes, but no pioneer could get along without one. This piece of metal shaped the wooden pegs used as nails; no log cabins could have been built without it. Many other items like this one preserve the early history of Dixon County and pioneer life in general. Included are such things as the mortar and pestle used in compounding prescriptions by a succession of Allen druggists and an 1885 teacher's contract which called for the whopping salary of $28 a month. The society has also purchased the former Assembly of God church building and the Logan Valley rural school. Open free during the summer on Sunday afternoons, special tours of the museum can also be arranged.

At Hartington, the Cedar County Historical Society maintains its museum in a 14-room house that is open from 2 to 4 p.m. every day but Monday. In addition to a carriage house also on the property, exhibits include an extensive collection of Indian artifacts of the Upper Republican Culture, dating from 1300-1400 A.D.

Most everyone associates Red Cloud with acclaimed author Willa Cather, and rightfully so. The town, of course, does have its better-known Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial, but there is another intriguing place — the Webster County Historical Museum. Located on West Fourth Avenue, the museum includes such interesting displays as the veterans room, the post-office room, the church room complete with old-fashioned pews and organ, a general history room, a pioneer bedroom, an old-time schoolroom, a room of old tools, and another which contains pictures of early pioneers such as former Governor Silas Garber. Soon to be added is a building for the display (Continued on page 52)

JULY, 1968 25

SAUGER for LUNCH

Going hungry isn't part of the plan when I go trolling with Hank Reinheimer by Chuck Hayes as told to Gene Hornbeck

OUR SPINNING OUTFITS bowed precariously over the transom of the boat as we trolled minnow-laden hooks and heavy sinkers slowly upstream against the Missouri River's current. The little fishing motor chugged away, gaining just enough to keep us moving.

"Action shouldn't be long in coming," grinned Hank Reinheimer, my fishing partner. "There are plenty of sauger in the river. They came in last week and I took a few males the day I was down here before. By now, the females should be spawning along these gravel bars."

No one could ask for a more knowledgeable fishing partner than Hank who has fished the Missouri for nearly 40 of his 50-odd years. When he isn't wetting lines, he runs a locker plant in Spencer where he is also the fire chief. His favorite fishing waters stretch from the Fort Randall Dam in South Dakota to 20 miles downstream.

We were fishing a beautifully clear stretch of river about four miles inside the Nebraska border. It is here that the sauger from Lewis and Clark Lake, and the river itself, come each spring to spawn. Their run usually starts about the last week in April, with the males coming in before the females. The run lasts about two weeks before the fishing tapers off a bit. According to Hank, a good fisherman can take sauger and walleye throughout summer and fall if he knows the ways of the river.

"We aren't making much headway against this current," I said, noting that after 10 minutes of trolling we had only moved about 200 yards.

"We can't go any faster," Hank answered. "With this current, we have to take it slow to get bait near the bottom. If we troll faster, we have to put on more weight. I've got three-fourths ounce on now and that's about all this spinning outfit will take."

26 NEBRASKAland JULY, 1968 27  

As he talked, my rod began a slow arc toward the water. "Snag," I said. "Hey! Wait a minute, a snag doesn't make the tip jump like that."

Powering back on the rod, I felt a fish turn with the current and skid off toward the center of the river. A couple of seconds later, the line went limp except for the drag of the sinker.

"Lost him," I said. "Anyway, I broke the ice."

"It's easy to lose them, especially the little ones," my partner replied. "They don't hit real hard. Sauger often chomp on the minnow, but they don't get the hook."

It had been nearly 10 a.m. before we got on the river and I had some misgivings about not bringing any sandwiches but my buddy insisted that we would have fish to fry for lunch. Maybe I seem like a doubting Thomas, but since I am a Nebraska state patrolman, doubting comes natural. Anyway, we had bread, beans, and coffee, so all we needed now were the fish.

"See that rocky outcropping just ahead," Hank pointed. "It shoots the current out from the bank, causing a back eddy. There is a good hole there where I've taken a lot of fish."

"I'm ready if the fish are," I replied.

Hank fed the motor a touch of gas to get us through the eddy, and maneuvered his line to come up along the edge of the run. My partner's prophecy came true shortly. He reared back on the rod, setting the hook in a fish. After cutting the motor, we driftea back down-river as Hank played the sauger into the waiting net.

"Not big," he noted, stringing the one-pounder. "But I've got my lunch. Now, it's your turn."

Running up to the same spot, we trolled into the hole again. This time, our baits ran almost to the outcropping before we both had strikes. They were not real jolts, but sauger seldom hit hard.

"Must be a few sauger in there," I allowed, my rod bucking both fish and current.

"Try and hold yours on your side and I'll do the same here," my partner coached.

After a couple of minutes, we landed a pair of sauger that looked like twins. Both weighed about a pound apiece. This stretch of water yielded some eight fish before we finally gave up. None were lunkers by any means, but all were in the 1 to 1 1/2-pound class. Excellent for the frying pan as I was to find out.

"Let's head for shore," my buddy suggested while stringing up fish No. 8. "You get that charcoal going, and I'll fillet some of these fish and ice up the rest."

Beaching the boat on a sandbar, we went about Ereparing lunch. I toted the grub box and charcoal urner into a shady spot on the sand, and with the help of some tinder-dry twigs, I soon had the charcoal burning.

Joining my companion at the water's edge, I watched fascinated as he gave me a demonstration of filleting. Using a paddle for a board, Hank made a couple of quick strokes with the knife and had a bone-free fillet in seconds.

"Next step," said my cooking friend, rinsing the choice bits of fish in the river, "is getting them ready for the pan. Dump about three big tablespoons of grease in that skillet."

With the pan ready over the glowing coals, I watched as Hank dug down into a small plastic container filled with flour, and came up with two eggs.

"Say, that's tricky," I said. "Keeps them from breaking, I assume."

"Right, saves packing space, too," my partner answered as he dumped the flour into a pie plate. He cracked the eggs and stirred them into the container.

Dipping the fillets in the egg, he dusted them with flour, and popped them into the sizzling pan. Twenty minutes later, they were done to a golden brown. Accompanied by beans, bread, and hot coffee, they tasted far better than any fish I had eaten in the past.

"You've proven your point," I said, finishing my fourth fillet. "I'm so full, I don't know if I can make it back to the boat."

"Take your time," my pleased companion stated. "Fishing will be slow anyway until mid-afternoon."

We lazed away the next half hour talking about the Missouri and tbe changes Hank has seen over the years.

"I understand," my companion told me, "that this is the clearest stretch of the Missouri in Nebraska. The reason is that (Continued on page 55)

28 NEBRASKAland JULY, 1968 29

LEG OF DUCK

Hunters, please don't ignore that metal band and its nine-word message. It may be salvation of your sport Here's why

T'HEIR NECKS CRANED, the sky-scanning hunters crouched in the cold blind. It was November on the Platte River and word was out that "new" ducks were in. Starting out before daybreak, the men had hoped to bag a couple, but it was now time to leave and their efforts hadn't paid off.

Suddenly, the hoped-for mallards zipped in low and fast over the hunters' blocks. Caught hands down, the gunners fumbled into action.

Blam! Blam!

One drake dropped from the flock and was quickly retrieved. Back in the blind, the lucky gunner hefted his corn-fattened bird, and noticed a metal band attached to the drake's leg. He removed it and read this indented message:

AVISE F.& W. SERV. WRITE WASH. USA 554-11437

Each fall in NEBRASKAland this story is repeated over and over. It is the story of co-operative banding between states, the federal government, and neighboring countries.

It began long ago. In fact, marking birds to study migratory patterns can be traced back more than two centuries. However, the 20th Century had nearly dawned before Mortensen, a Danish schoolmaster, really made banding scientific. Following his success, similar projects snowballed throughout Europe. Later, individuals and bird clubs in North America picked up the ball or rather the band. The American Bird Banding Association was formed in 1909, and it banded continuously until 1920 when its work was taken over by the U.S. Biological Survey, then part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Later, the Biological Survey and Bureau of Fisheries consolidated into the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Interior Department.

Since 1920, some 13 million birds have been banded under the general direction of the F. & W. Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service, and a half million plus are being added annually. Recoveries which provide actual study data have passed the million mark.

All bands are not recovered. Some waterfowl become victims of natural mortalities and are never found. Others are shot by hunters who do not return the bands.

Nebraska is only one link in this chain but it is a strong one. Records show that since 1948, the Nebraska Game Commission has banded 23,780 mallards, 8,830 blue-winged teal, and 2,514 geese. How does the Nebraska sportsman benefit from

30 NEBRASKAland all these figures? Band recoveries provide valuable information on migration routes, mortalities, and other subjects needed for wise conservation of migratory birds. The information gained from band recoveries is used in setting seasons, bag limits, and to help determine other desirable regulations which benefit the greatest number of sportsmen without hurting the resources.

The only conclusive information on longevity in the wild has come from banding. Most birds live less than two years, but band returns have uncovered mallards and pintails that survived more than 20. Still another contribution of band recoveries is their use in the development of the refuge system. The Nebraska hunter, a bird watcher, or nature lover would not be enjoying so many waterfowl today were it not for yesteryear's banding.

Where does banding stand today? Its purpose is little changed, but trapping techniques have been updated. In Nebraska, biologists concentrate on locally-raised ducks.

Banding in Nebraska tells biologists where the local birds go; when, where, and what per cent are harvested; how long they live and other differential movements by sex, age, and species.

A wealth of knowledge has been accumulated from bands. For instance, returns through 1960 from Nebraska-banded blue-winged teal prove conclusively that not all our ducks fly south for the winter. In fact, there is a very strong movement of bluewings toward the north-east, and hunters in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin bag these early in the season.

These birds account for 41 per cent of direct band recoveries. From the lake states, the teal work south along the Mississippi Flyway and another 14 per cent of Nebraska's teal-band recoveries come from Florida, Cuba, and South America. Locally-banded mallards pose still another puzzle. Recoveries have shown they move randomly in all directions from their hatching areas. This local movement disregards state lines and in the early fall Nebraska mallards are shot in nearby states to the east, west, north, and south of us. While many greenheads winter here later in the fall, scattered returns are also reported from farther south.

At times, banding turns up unexpected results. Prior to 1964, there was no record of occurrence of the Ross's goose in Nebraska. That year technicians, banding snow geese just north of Alliance, caught six. Three later efforts (Continued on page 56)

JULY, 1968 31

This Land of Change

From the wide Missouri west to magnificence of Wildcat Hills, scenery is study in contrasts Photography by Lou Ell

PITY THOSE who see Nebraska as a land of sameness. They are purblind to the splendid contrasts that are here for the looking. Contrasts range from the Herculean — the majestic sprawl of the Wildcat Hills —to the subtle —the velvety pink of a wild rose peeping from the sere of the Sand Hills.

This profusion of contrasts is the result of Nebraska's position as the geographical threshold of the West. Here the gentle topography of the east meets the rawer physical features of the west. This transition from one type of terrain to another creates a wealth of visual contrasts. But these surface differences are not the only contrasts found in NEBRASKAland. Contrasts in cultures and philosophies, while not so self-evident, are no less delightful.

Even the most casual of observers is impressed by the topographical variety of this state. It begins at the Missouri River where a riverine plain discards its flatland guise for sudden bluffs. These ramparts, stolid and austere as the walls of a medieval castle, have a right to their sternness.

Long before man shackled this most ornery of rivers with dike and levee, these natural bastions stood foursquare against the Missouri's periodic rampages. Proudly, these ancient guardians display the scars of countless battles. This physical contrast between a now-peaceful river and the frowning bluffs is jarring in its abruptness, but this is not the only paradox found here. The people of the river are a contrasting lot, too.

33   34 NEBRASKAland July 1968 35  

Where else but on the river can you find a man with a six-figure income gravely discussing everything from the State of the Union to the merits of a johnboat with a companion who hasn't got $12 to his name? Where else but on the river can you find a cane-pole fisherman sitting in the shade of a soon-to-be nuclear power plant?

The bluffs have good reason for their implacability toward the river, for they protect a fair country farther west. The contrasts in this lush and fertile land are not so pronounced, for they are.contrasts in_composition more than content, but they are here for the discerning eye. Black-and-white cows dot the rolling verdancy of a hillside pasture while the white of a farmhouse gleams in the brassy light of the afternoon sun. Somewhere near, a busy tractor crawls across the chocolate of a field like a scarlet beetle, and in the far distance, a ribbon of green marks the meander of a lazy river. Beyond the eye, a blue haze veils the meld of land and sky, softening and blurring the horizons.

Dwellers here have become part of the land itself. Their calendars are not squares of printed words and numbers. Instead, they are of the seasons: breakingtime, seedtime, growingtime, and harvesttime. Their speech is larded with the jargon of their work. Such words as, south 80, Jimmy C, John Deere, critter, and frcrik" come easy to their tongues. Proud of their reputations as conservatives, they are the greatest of gamblers, for each year they stake their all on the vagaries of nature. Yet, ask one if he's a betting man and the standard answer is, "Heck no".

The delineator between the passive beauty of the east and the rough charm of the Sand Hills is sharp indeed. At first glance, the hills seem brown and sterile, but behind this dour facade is some of the most interesting terrain in the world. These grass-covered hills, sculpted by ancient winds, remind the traveler of billows on the sea —billows frozen for eternity. This country of cow and coyote, so drab to the unknowing eye, teems with life and beauty.

In the spring and summer, flowers of yellow, blue, and red stipple the hills with flashes of color. Even in winter, when the hills are supine under their shrouds of white, the yucca flashes its green defiance to an angry sky. Rivers here have distinctive personalities. Some are sluggish, their waters reluctant to wed the distant sea. Others are impatient, and in their haste leave deep lacerations in the yielding earth. The Sand Hills are contrasts in camouflage, but to those who know their trails, there is enchantment around every bend.

NEBRASKAland    

The Sand Hiller is like his land, a contrast. Beneath his sometimes prickly exterior there is a genuine concern for all. A rancher will never get around to fix a sagging gate on his own place, but he'll travel a hundred miles to help a hard-luck neighbor at the ring of a telephone. The paradox of his country rubs off on a Sand Hiller. Where else will you find a man who tells his wife to patch the patches on his ancient Levi's and in the next instant writes a check for a $50,000 bull?

Two of NEBRASKAland's greatest contrasts are within a day's drive of each other. North of Crawford, almost to the state line, is the moon-scape of Toadstool Park, Nebraska's Badlands. Enchanting, almost awe-inspiring in its grimness, this area has some of the harshest, most fascinating topography in all of Nebraska. Eroded, sun-baked, desiccated, Toadstool Park is the antithesis of the Republican River Valley, 200 miles to the south and east. A visit to this valley while the memory of Toadstool is still fresh is like stepping from Purgatory into the Elysian Fields.

The Republican River Valley is synonymous with agriculture. Rich soil and abundant water are combined to the ultimate here and tremendous fields of corn, wheat, and milo prove that residents know how to use their bounty.

Where the Badlands are sterile, the valley is verdant. Where age hovers over the Badlands, newness surrounds the valley. An urgency is heard in the rustle of growing corn anxious for the harvest, and seen in the almost overnight rush of milo from seedling to headed grain. It is felt in the vibrant impatience of the people. For them, tomorrow may never be, but today is reality—let us make the most of it. The Republican River Valley isn't quite east and it isn't quite west. It's the Republican River Valley—a contrast within a contrast.

So pity those who see but sameness in NEBRASKAland. They have eyes, but they see not.

THE END 41

GRANDPA'S WOODS

Stock in this 120-acre investment is free, but it pays big dividends to a very thoughtful Elmwood banker by Bob Snow

THE GRANDPA OF Grandpa's Woods, 80-year-old Guy Clements, was doing what he likes most — spending time at his own public park, 3 1/2 miles northeast of Elmwood, Nebraska. As the Elmwood banker and lawyer watched the red-and-white bobber dancing in the secluded lagoon, he ran his huge, wrinkled hands through his silver hair and discussed his pet project.

"This isn't a fisherman's paradise by any means," Guy smiled as he contemplated a red-winged blackbird flittering from elm to elm. "But I stocked enough bass, bluegill, bullhead, and catfish in the lake to keep dad and the kids interested."

A quiet place with trees, grass, a placid lagoon, and tuneful birds, the 120-acre woodland started out as a hideaway for the aging but agile man who finds contentment in working with painting. More than an outdoor studio, the tract has sentimental value, too.

Guy's grandfather, Chauncy Bailey, came to Nebraska in a covered wagon when the Indians were still roaming free. In need of firewood, the Pennsylvania pioneer swapped a horse to the tribesmen for

42 NEBRASKAland 11 acres of woodland along Weeping Water Creek. As Guy grew up, his family fished and picnicked along the tree-lined creek and named the spot Grandpa's Woods.

In 1956, Guy's private eden went public when he decided to share it with the rest of the world. The banker bought a bulldozer to repossess the tangled jungle and clear picnic and camping areas. Remembering his bullhead days at the creek, he turned dam builder and rechannelized the stream to form a spring-fed lagoon. Snaking through the park for nearly a mile, this rustic lake, with its overhanging trees and weird-shape stumps protruding from the waters, is ideal for canoeing or rowboating.

As the park builder poured money into picnic tables, shelters, outdoor fireplaces, and miscellaneous items, his banking instincts told him the project was a poor investment in terms of dollars. But, hundreds of sincere thank-yous from visitors told that his money had bought him valuable shares of self-satisfaction as well as creating a remoteness where his neighbors could get away from it all.

"I built and maintain Grandpa's Woods, because it is the only thing I have ever done for the public," the native Nebraskan said. "Long after I am forgotten, I hope people are still enjoying the park."

But Grandpa's Woods is more than a park. It is a man's soul wrapped up in nature's own packaging of lush greenery and abundant wildlife. Pheasant, quail, beaver, deer, and several species of birds roam unmolested. The woods add their charm to the place. Visitors, who drive through the wagon-wheeled entrance and follow a meandering road that eventually leads over a covered bridge, soon share Grandpa Clements' happiness. Guy's tall, stately, official greeters, the trees, shade picnic areas and beckon weekend outers to return.

Guy plays golf, but doesn't like to hurry around the links. So, he built a nine-hole sand-greens course where a father can leisurely teach his family the basics of the game. Geared for family participation, the park is something special to each person. To a balding father, it brings back boyhood memories as he watches his youngsters play on a tire swing, to a bedraggled mother it is soaking up serenity, and to the children it is tandem bikes, canoeing, and on some weekends pony riding. The quiet little place is meant to be a spot where family ties are strengthened.

The park's base of operations is a picturesque trading post overlooking the lagoon. Rocks, collected from all over the country, have been cemented into a fireplace, while Guy's huge hand-painted mural on the cabin's walls show his sensitive and serene eye for beauty. The banker eventually hopes to turn the cabin which is now a concession stand into a museum.

Maintaining a park poses many problems. Beaver in the lagoon have been giving Guy fits for a long time. They have toppled several trees into the water and killed others. The park owner, however, has put their destructive handiwork to good use, for at Grandpa's Woods the camper will always find a plentiful supply of firewood. Vandals have caused trouble, too, as they have dumped over outhouses and destroyed other park property.

In spite of adversity, the silver-haired man continues to plan and dream. There are several more acres of ground to the north of the park that still need to be developed and he hopes to construct more ponds as a put-and-take bass fishery. But these plans take time and money and the small fees from the golf course and bike and boat rentals barely pay for the park's upkeep.

Whether Guy gets everything done or not is of no consequence, he is already making hundreds happy. Enlarged or not, Grandpa's Woods will stand as a living tribute to a Nebraskan who only wants to preserve "a little bit of nature as it was meant to be".

THE END JULY, 1968 43

900-MILE STAG

by George "Bud" Pettingill Hawthorne, Wisconsin Velvet antlers are Pine Ridge puzzle until Wisconsinite's rifle solves the mystery

HIS ANTLERS looked a little odd, but the buck was 300 yards away and moving, so I couldn't be sure. Besides, I was excited. After 2 1/2 days of hard hunting, here was a chance at my first mule deer. The buck was angling toward me, and when he was within 150 yards, I dropped the 4X scope on him and squeezed off my .308.

The 150-grain slug smacked into the ground behind the buck, and I thought it was a miss. Slamming in another round, I shot again and the deer went down, flatter than a flapjack. Working up to him, I noticed that his antlers were still fuzzy with velvet. This was odd because mule deer in Nebraska normally lose their velvet by early October, and this was November. As I admired him, I remembered stories of "stag" bucks — males that have been accidentally castrated.

"That's what he is, Dew," I said to my partner, Dewey Zachau. "This is a buck that never had any need to polish his antlers because he wasn't going to impress any lady friends."

We dressed him out and confirmed my belief that he was a stag. His antlers weren't much for size, but he was a big deer, and I knew he would be prime eating. Examination revealed that my first shot wasn't a miss after all. The bullet had plowed through behind his shoulders without expanding. My second hit him in the head which accounted for his right-now collapse.

The unusual buck was the high point of our first Nebraska deer hunt. Dew and I had made the 22-hour drive from our homes in Hawthorne, Wisconsin, to the Pine Ridge to open the 1966 deer season. Both of us have hunted whitetails in our home state for the past 29 years, so we weren't green at deer hunting, but the big country of the Pine Ridge impressed us, and we figured we would be doing some long-range shooting.

I work for the Wisconsin Conservation Department —Forest Protection Division, while Dewey is an over-the-road truck driver. Both of us are native Wisconsinites and love to hunt. We have hunted pheasants in Nebraska, and that's how we got the mule-deer fever.

We got into Crawford the day before the season opened and contacted Cecil Avey, the conservation officer there. He took us on a little tour of the area and pointed out that there is a lot of state and federal land open to hunting. I never realized that Nebraska had such striking scenery. The canyons and buttes of this tumbled, pine-studded country impressed us. At Cecil's suggestion, we decided to tent at the campgrounds in Crawford. Dew was the cook, while I took on the other camp chores.

Dawn found us working up a draw toward a prominent ridge. Deer sign was plentiful, and we heard shooting around us, but the mule deer were mighty inconspicuous, at least in our area.

Dew did get a thrill when he peered over a little rise and spotted five deer feeding in a little meadow beside a pine thicket. They were does and we had our sights on bucks, so we weren't going to shoot any baldies even though they were legal game. Later, as the days ran along, we changed our resolves, but on that first morning, they were still strong.

Around noon, I heard three shots and surmised that they came from Dew's .30/06, so I ambled toward the sounds.

I was working down a rocky ridge when I saw the deer on the next hogback. My telescope sight confirmed that he was a buck —a real dandy. He was a goodly way off, and I didn't want to undershoot, so I held high. The slug whistled over the buck's shoulders and smacked into the ground. My buck made three enormous bounds and vanished into the pines, taking my hopes for a second shot with him.

Dew had a similar experience. He had spooked a far-out buck and took three shots, but the range had fooled him. We hunted all day, but didn't cut a hair. However, our enthusiasm was still high, and both of us were eager for the next morning.

Our second day was a repeat of the first, except for shooting opportunities. We did see a nice four-point whitetail, but we were after mule deer. Dew had to fight down temptation when the buck ran within 30 yards of him.

"Man, did you see him? He was fat as a hog, but I've driven 900 miles for a mule deer and a mule deer I'm going to get," my partner declared.

Our hunting fever had cooled a bit after that second fruitless day, but we were still pretty determined. It was shortly

(Continued on page 49) JULY, 1968 45

TAKE-ALONG CAMPSTOOLS

Sturdy, serviceable, and easy to make, these seats can't be beat by Lou Ell

SHOW ME a campsite anywhere, and I will show you people sitting on damp ground, cold rocks, and ant-infested logs. Here are some serviceable seats you can make to avoid such discomforts.

Easiest is a simple wedge board, a piece of three-quarter-inch plywood, 12 inches wide and 16 inches or more long. Cut very shallow V-shape notches in both ends. Find a tree that crotches next to the ground, or two trees close together, and simply wedge the board between them. Since tree spacing varies, you may want to carry boards of varying lengths. These can double as washbasin shelves, makeshift tables, and bow hunters' tree stands.

Where weight and storage are of little consequence, a sturdy fold-up campstool can be fabricated in your workshop. Because wide stock is used in this stool, it is more stable than most inexpensive commercial ones, and its low spreaders prevent the legs from sinking into soft ground, a major fault of stools made of metal tubing.

Materials needed are: 4— pieces straight-grained lumber, 1 x 2 x 20 inches, for legs. 2 —pieces straight-grained lumber, 1 x VA x 13 inches, for spreaders. 2 —pieces straight-grained lumber, 1 x IVa x 11% inches, for spreaders. 1 —piece canvas, 1% x 20 inches, when hemmed, for seat. 2 —2 x 3/16-inch stove bolts with nuts for pivots. 6 —washers for stove bolt pivots. 16 —8d box nails to secure spreaders. Waterproof glue to secure spreaders. Carpet tacks or staple gun to attach seat.

Bevel one end of all four legs at a 45° angle. Assemble two of the legs with a 13-inch spreader. The upper spreader fits in a slot, cut with a saw and chisel. The spreader must fit this slot snugly, or the stool will not hold together long. The lower spreader fits into notches just above the bevel. These, too, must be snug fitting. Douse the slots with wood glue, fit in the spreaders, and square up the frame. Use two box nails to firm up each joint, but first drill pilot holes slightly smaller than the nails, to prevent splitting.

Assemble the remaining two legs with the shorter spreaders. This frame slips inside the one previously constructed, and should be adjusted to fit closely before the joints are nailed.

Measure nine inches from the top of each leg, and drill a three-sixteenths-inch hole in all four, for the pivotal bolts. Use a washer between the legs, and one on either end of the bolt.

Tack or staple one end of the canvas seat to the inner edge of the top spreader, open the stool so the foot bevels rest properly, and tack the other end of the canvas.

The third seat resembles a childhood swing. Easily portable, deer hunters, bird watchers, and campers alike can use this one.

Materials needed are: 24 - feet Vi- or %- inch nylon rope. 1 - lV4-inch key ring. 2-iy4-inch iron rings. 3 - V2-inch spring snaps with attached swivels. 1-I0xl7x %-inch plywood.

Cut a very shallow V-notch in one edge of the seat board. This will help stabilize it against a tree bole. Bore four evenly-spaced holes across the width of the board near each end. Holes must match rope size.

Cut two four-foot pieces of rope. Loop one on each of the iron rings, so rope ends are equal. Bring the free 46 NEBRASKAland

ends of one rope assembly down through the outside holes at the one end of the board, up through the two center ones, and tie off with a square knot. Attach the other rope assembly to the opposite end. Secure a snap to one of the iron rings by using the key ring. If you never intend to "wear" the seat board, you may dispense with installing this snap. Tie a snap to each end of the remaining length of rope. A taut-line hitch pulled tight is a good knot to use.

To hang the seat, wrap the long rope head high around a tree trunk, until the free ends are about waist level. Snap on the rings of the seat sling so the notched part of the seat rests against the tree. Sit down. Nylon rope stretches considerably the first time used, so height must be readjusted for comfort. You can hang the seat from an overhead branch. For bow hunting, climb the tree and tie the seat in the branches. You can sit comfortably for long periods.

To wear the board while walking, wrap the long rope around the board. Swing the board behind your waist, bring the two iron rings around your middle, and snap the hook installed for this purpose into the opposite ring. You can adjust the seat slings to fit your waist measurements and wear the board all day with comfort.

There are other kinds of camp seats, such as overturned buckets for instance, but we like these. So will you.

THE END JULY, 1968 47

NOTES ON NEBRASKA FAUNA. . .

PLAINS KILLIFISH

by Jack Peterson Associate Fisheries Biologist

BECAUSE HE IS one of the smaller inhabitants of Nebraska's waters, the killifish is seldom seen by the majority of anglers. Some of the species belonging to this minnow-size fish, of the family Cyprinodontidae, can live equally well in salt, brackish, or fresh water. The only member of this family found in Nebraska is the plains killifish, Fundulus Kansae. Some species not found in Nebraska have the ability to move overland for short distances.

The killifish is often confused with small minnows, but he is identifiable by the placement and shape of his fins. His dorsal, or top fin, is well behind the middle of the back and has a rounded outer edge. The caudal, or tail fin, is definitely rounded, whereas in the small minnows and shiners it is usually forked. A killifish's body is crossed by 11 to 21 vertical dusky bars. A colorful individual, the killifish is greenish above, shading from dark olive-green to a silvery-white below. He ranges in size from two to six inches. A noticeably protruding lower jaw and an upturned protractile mouth are other identifying characteristics.

Killifish are usually found in warm and more brackish water. They are primarily insect eaters and surface feeders. Minute plankton organisms, aquatic vegetation, and water insects and their larvae make up part of their diets. These little fish are quite beneficial in that they feed on the mosquito larvae.

Killifish spawn in late July or early August. Their eggs are deposited in gravel areas along the bottom. No parental care is given them during incubation. Once hatched, the fry are on their own.

The plains killifish is quite common in some plains-area streams, but his small size keeps him from being particularly noticeable. He is of little economic importance since he is found in waters which game fish rarely inhabit. These jaunty little characters make excellent aquarium fish, since they are hardy and attractive.

THE END

WILDCAT CURRENCY

(Continued from page 17)

on nonresident ownership, because "foreign" financiers were in Nebraska to pad their own pockets.

While redeeming the notes was difficult, issuing them was not. Many banks were not officially chartered and some had no offices at all, such as the Waubeek Bank of De Soto, Omaha and Chicago Bank, Bank of Dakota, Corn Exchange Bank of DeSoto, Omaha City Bank and Land Company, and Brownville Bank and Land Company of Omaha. Still, they issued scrip. This did not seem to bother anyone. So easy was it to manufacture money that the Brownville Hotel Company issued scrip for construction of a hotel.

Short-lived as the chartered banks were, their failings had great influence on communities. Individuals were financially wiped out and in some instances were unable to recover from the poor-money bust. During wildcat days, De Soto was a thriving three-bank town. When the banks failed, so did the town, which withered away about 1870. The Western Exchange Fire and Marine Insurance Company, located at the south-west corner of 12th and Farnam Streets in Omaha, closed its doors September 23, 1857, leaving creditors and note holders with paper not worth the match to burn it. Yet, despite its bankrupt condition, the bank sold its charter for $9,500 to the Bishop Hill Colony, an Illinois farming community of Swedish immigrants.

Located across the street on the south-east corner of 12th and Farnam, the Bank of Nebraska did not fail until 1860. The only record of its assets is in the return of a writ of execution by the sheriff when he reported selling, "Thirteen sacks of flour, one large iron safe, one counter, one desk, one stove, drum and pipe, three armchairs, and one map of Douglas County".

Still in existence, the building of the Bank of Florence, at 1802 North 30th Street in Omaha, has withstood the years, even though its wildcat currency is practically forgotten. On June 12, 1858, the Nebraska City News reported:

"The Bank of Florence has also caved in, and instead of a full-grown cat, is nothing now but the unstuffed skin of one, having in its day caterwauled the people out of a good hundred thousand dollars, illustrating the fact that if Florence did stand upon rock bottom, her bank didn't."

When the Bank of Tekamah at Nebraska City came tumbling down, the Nebraska City News of May 29, 1858, wrote:

"The Bank of Tekamah or its stockholders have not $500 assets in the Territory. The banking house is a little shanty, 10 x 12, and its furniture consists of an old table and a stove. James D. White, city assessor, says he presented a small sum-$1,000-and demanded payment. The teller remarked that he had no funds and never had any, and that he had redeemed a small amount for a blind man and a poor widow out of his own funds. This bank had issued $99,000 in worthless scrip."

Even if the bills turned out to be worthless, the printer did his best to make them look valuable. Most wildcat notes were printed in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston on a fine linen-type paper.

Currency was usually issued in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 dollars. Engravers turned out captivating bills depicting everything from Presidents to curly-headed girls. The one-dollar bills of the Nemaha Valley Bank currency pictured a scene of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the left, a female portrait in the center, and two beavers gnawing the limb of a tree on the right. Indians with Greek features and aspects of pioneer life were also favorite subjects.

Although wildcat currency was of little value after the panic, today's collectors delight in the old bills. Currency issued by the Omaha and Chicago Bank and the Nemaha Valley Bank is now fairly uncommon. For some of their issuances only one to five bills remain in existence, which places their values at $35 and up.

These old bills and the trouble behind them no longer worry investors. When the national banking system was established in 1864, the wildcats and days of Nebraska printing-press money died. However, their influence on the economy of a struggling young territory can never be erased.

THE END

900-MILE STAG

(Continued from page 45)

before noon when I saw the stag buck. There was a little clearing between the hills and some dry washes, and my buck was bounding out of one of the washes when I first saw him. He was coming down from my left. The scope told me that he was a mule deer, and almost subconsciously I realized that his antlers looked a bit odd. Still, I was mighty happy when he went down.

The weather turned mean on our fourth day. It was cold, foggy, and windy with a definite threat of snow. Hunting was just about impossible. Still the day had an unusual beauty about it. The moisture was freezing on the trees, and every pine in the Ridge looked as if it were covered with white flocking. We didn't do any deer business that day, but it was still an enjoyable experience to be out prowling around. That night in the tent wasn't so enjoyable. The temperature dipped to 2° in a blustery 35-mile wind.

NEBRASKAland proudly presents the stories of its readers. Here is the opportunity so many have requested-a chance to tefl their own outdoor tales. Hunting trips, the "big fish that got away", unforgettable characters, outdoor impressions-at! have a place here. If you have a story to tell, Jot it down and send it to Editor, NEBRASKAland, State Capitol, Lincoln 68509. Send photographs, black and white or color, too, if any are available.

About four inches of new snow had fallen during the night, but now the day was sparkling cold and as bright as a newly-minted coin. On the way out from camp, we were cheered by the sight of several fresh deer trails. It was evident that the animals were moving about.

Our hunting time was speeding away, and we knew Dew had to score soon if he was going to. We drew up a hunt plan, hoping that the two of us working together could get up a deer. I would work the bottoms of the draws while my partner skirted the sidehills about halfway up. If I spooked a mule deer, it would probably break for the high country and pass in range of Dew.

Snow falling from a small pine caught my eye, and I turned just in time to see a gray shadow disappear behind it. I knew I had spooked a deer.

Seraack! The bark of Dew's .30/06 was lance sharp in the white silence, and I knew he had scored. When I reached him, his smile told the story. A fat doe lay at the bottom of a dry wash, a bullet through her neck.

Nine hundred miles of driving lay before us, but somehow the thought never bothered us. We had come to Nebraska full of optimism and determination to bag our first mule deer and we did, even though they weren't quite what we expected.

THE END JULY, 1968 49

OUTDOOR ELSEWHERE

Feathered Fatty. Turkeys usually prefer running to flying to escape hunters, but it doesn't always work out. A Pennsylvania hunter pursued a gobbler at high speed, and got the bird without firing a shot. The turkey attempted to hide in a culvert which proved to be too small. He was pulled out by the hunter, but the bird's pathetic look was just too much. The speedy hunter just had to turn him loose. —Pennsylvania

Good-Bye Slippers. Though a Maine hunter was wearing only bedroom slippers, new ones as a gift from his wife, he jumped into roadside slush in pursuit of a deer. He shot him and stomped through mud to clean him and take the carcass to the check station. The bedroom slippers did not survive. When his wife saw what her husband had done to her gift, he almost didn't either. — Oklahoma

The Long Hunt. Several hunters on a big-game quest in Wyoming were confidently following their elderly guide until he lost his air of assurance. He finally admitted to them that he was lost. "We thought you were the best guide in Wyoming," one of the indignant hunters charged. "In Wyoming I believe I am," replied the aged gentleman, "but I think now we're in Utah." — Wyoming

Stubborn Bruin. A sportsman recently talked to a game warden about bear hunting. He said a bear frequented the swamp behind his house. "I hunted that bear every day of the season, and saw him every day," he said. "But no matter how I tried, he just wouldn't go up a tree so I could shoot him."—Pennsylvania

On The Beach. A Wisconsin family camping along the shores of Lake Michigan decided to take a long walk on the beach. The two boys in the family thought it would be fun to take off their shoes. After walking a short time in the warm sand, the seven-year-old ran up to his parents and merrily remarked, "Gee, it sure feels good to have nothing on but your bare feet." — Wisconsin

Gourmet Pancakes? If the milk runs out, pancakes can be made with pop or beer. One camper says he has used a variety of beverages and found each imparts a subtle flavor to the breakfast staple. —Michigan Conservation

New "Snap" Swivel. Two little girls from a small Pennsylvania town were playing in the dirt when one of them uncovered an earthworm. Soon they found another, and decided to go fishing. One of the girls remembered that a pin would substitute for a hook, so they got one 50 NEBRASKAland and headed for a nearby stream. Later, in reply to a query about how they kept the worms on their improvised hook, one of the girls said, "Oh, it was easy. All we did was close the safety pin."— Pennsylvania

Sumac Sick. A beaver trapper chopped down, cut up, and used as bait for one of his beaver sets a poison sumac plant. Before the end of the day, he himself could feel the toxic effects of the sumac. As the result, the experience cost him $200 in doctor bills and loss of work. Other members of his family were also infected. —Pennsylvania

Kick Back. You've no doubt heard about "learning the hard way", and according to one mother, this can apply to kicking. While wearing a light pair of house slippers, Mom kicked a pile of junior's archery equipment in disgust because he had left it in an untidy heap. Evidently she didn't expect the pile of sporting gear to kick back, but to her astonishment it did. She landed in the hospital with an arrowhead stuck in her big toe. The bow was loaded. —Maine

Tagged For Travel. It is possible now to make friends with individual alligators in Everglades National Park. Eighteen large alligators are now wearing bright, color-coded plastic discs after "volunteering" to assist game biologists Tommy Hines and Mike Fogarty with a research project. The idea is to be able to identify each alligator on sight, to know its sex and how much traveling it does. Discs should be visible from aircraft, making it possible to check on nesting activity within the study area. —Florida

Hamburger Hungry? When two trout took up housekeeping in a pool near their home, a young couple took keen interest in them and one day fed them a raw hamburger. Sometime later the wife saw that the trout were chasing and fighting each other. She called the local warden for an explanation. The warden's wife answered, "Feed them another hamburger before they turn cannibalistic." —Pennsylvannia

Bugler's Last. A group of hunters had a cabin and were blowing a bugle at different times during the day. When asked why, one of the fellows replied: "The first one in the morning is a signal that breakfast is ready. The second one is the signal for dinner. The third one —well, if you don't hear it you had best gather some wood for the night because you are lost." —Pennsylvania

Extra Rider. While two sportsmen drove along a highway close to Hunter's Run in Pennsylvania, an agile deer jumped off a roadside bank, crashed through the car's windshield, and landed in the laps of the two men. The deer, not liking the front seat, scrambled into the back seat and broke out the left rear window. The hunters were not seriously hurt and later reported the last time they saw the frightened deer, he was going full tilt down a nearby road.— Pennsylvania

JULY, 1968 51

CRAZY ABOUT MUSEUMS

(Continued from page 25)

of early-day machinery. This museum is open six days a week in the summer.

In still another vein, the Bocachee Pioneer Museum in Fremont features a Civil War collection among its prized exhibits. A major portion of this display was collected over a 10-year period by James Gibney, Jr. Among the items are both Union and Confederate uniforms and an 1865 newspaper with its detailed account of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Sponsored by the Dodge County Historical Society, Bocachee is open Thursdays and Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. and on Sundays from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

The local museum craze has been growing across the nation throughout the past decade, and indicative of the determination essential to a successful project is the Pioneer Trails Museum and Tourist Information Center at Bridgeport. Opened first in July, 1961, under the sponsorship of the local Lions Club, it was manned by volunteers at consequently irregular hours. In 1963, a city mill levy was approved for financial support of the facility. A building was erected at the junction of U.S. Highway 385 and Nebraska Highway 92, complete with picnic areas and plenty of parking. Open full-time from June through August, the museum itself is much the same as other community museums in content, but the tourist information center-museum combination makes it different from other such installations.

The little town of Grant, home of the Perkins County Historical Museum, has come up with still another twist on the typical pioneer facility. Members of the historical society there plan to stage special demonstrations with the antique equipment on display. On the agenda, although no dates have been scheduled as yet, are such projects as "Old-Time Bake Day", "Old-Time Wash Day", "Soap Making", and other routine tasks of yesterday's housewife. The museum itself is housed in three buildings, including a home from the early 1900,s, an old country school, and an old barn. Although officially open only on Sunday afternoons, special tours are conducted.

Nebraska's northwestern panhandle is Mari Sandoz country, and naturally the famed Nebraska author is the focal point for museums in the Gordon area. The Mari Sandoz Museum, maintained by her sister, Mrs. Bob Pifer, is located 21 miles south of Gordon on Nebraska Highway 27. Although visitors cannot go into the building, the windows are designed to give a view of the replica of Mari's New York City apartment, where she lived and wrote. An extensive collection of her personal belongings is on display in the Mari Sandoz Room at the Gamble Store in Gordon. Items on exhibit include her jewelry, hats, other personal effects, research books from her personal library, plus many scrapbooks, albums, clippings, and pictures.

NEBRASKAland MUSEUMS TOWN MUSEUM SEASON OPERATION Agate Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (exhibit trailer)* Year-round Summer, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to sundown Saturday and Sunday. Hours unknown as yet for rest of year Ainsworth Sellors Memorial Cabin* Summer 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays Allen Dixon County Museum* Summer Sunday afternoons or by appointment Alliance Knight Museum (Box Butte County Historical Society) May 1—November 1 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday Bill Zieg Museum and Rock Shop Year-round Business hours Ansley Cooiey Antiques and Museum* Year-round Arthur Old Courthouse Museum Bassett House of Memories (Rock County Historical Society) By appointment. Contact Vern Van Norman Beatrice Homestead National Monument* Year-round 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and holidays Bellevue Sarpy County Historical Museum Summer 2 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday Bridgeport Pioneer Trails Museum June—August Broken Bow Broken Bow Museum Evenings. Contact Carl Smith, curator Brownville Brownville Museum June—October Afternoons daily June through August, Sunday afternoons May, September, October Carson House June—October Same as Brownville Museum Chadron Museum of the Fur Trade and Bordeaux Trading Post Dawes County Historical Museum Cordova Cordova Community Museum* 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday and by appointment Crawford Fort Robinson Museum (State Historical Society) April 1—November 15 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and by appointment Trailside Museum, Fort Robinson (University of Nebraska) June—Labor Day 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. By appointment during off-season Crete Saline County Historical Museum Sundays and holidays 1 to 5 p.m. and by appointment Curtis Hansen Memorial Museum 1 to 5 p.m. daily David City Leo Bonger's Antique Auto Collection Year-round Most Sundays, by appointment Dorchester Saline County Museum 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and holidays and by appointment Fairbury Jefferson County Museum 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and by appointment Falls City Richardson County Historical Society Museum By appointment Fort Calhoun Washington County Historical Museum Franklin Franklin County Historical Museum Fremont Bocachee Pioneer Museum 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday Gering-Scottsbluff Scotts Bluff National Monument, Oregon Trail Museum* Year-round 8 a.m. to sundown Hiram Scott Trading Post ! and Museum Ewing Museum Gordon Mari Sandoz Museum, 21 miles south Gordon, Nebraska Highway 27 Mari Sandoz Room (Gamble Store) Year-round Business hours Store of Yesterday (Sheridan County Historical Society) July—September Thursday and Saturday afternoons Gothenburg Pony Express Station May—September 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily June through August Grand Island Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Year-round June 15 to September 15, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., except Sunday 1 to 9 p.m.; September 15 to June 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday Hall County Historical Society Museum Grant Perkins County Historical Museum Summer Sunday afternoons Hartington Cedar County Historical Museum 2 to 4 p.m. daily except Monday Hastings House of Yesterday Year-round 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily June through August; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily September through May Hay Springs Heritage Center (Sheridan County Historical Society) Hazard Philip Munster Indian Artifacts Collection Year-round By appointment Hebron Thayer County History Museum Holdrege Phelps County Historical Museum May 1—September 15 2 to 5 p.m. daily, except 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday Kearney ! Fort Kearny State Historical Park* Year-round 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily in summer, remainder of year 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and holidays Fort Kearney Museum April—October 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily TOWN MUSEUM SEASON OPERATION Kimball Indian Artifacts Collection (City Office) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday Lexington Dawson County Historical Museum (under construction) Lincoln State Historical Society Museum* Year-round 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays University of Nebraska State Museum* Year-round 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sundays Fairview (William Jennings Bryan Home) April—September 1 to 4 p.m. daily Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Year-round 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, closed Mondays State Capitol Year-round 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. holidays Madison Madison County Historical Museum May 15—October 15 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily or by appointment Mead William Vavak Collection of Early-Day Farm Machinery By appointment Wilmer Ellison Antique Collection By appointment Minden Harold Warp Pioneer Village Year-round 8 a.m. to sundown daily Kearney County Historical Museum By appointment Murray Turtle Mound Museum (Martin Sporer) Year-round By appointment Nebraska City Arbor Lodge State Historical Park April 15—October 30 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily April 15 to June 15; 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5:30 p.m. daily June 15 to September 15; 1 to 5:30 p.m. September 15 to October 30 John Brown's Cave Year-round Norfolk Elkhorn Valley Historical Museum North Platte Buffalo Bill's Ranch State Historical Park* Year-round Summer, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; rest of year, 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays DAR Museum (log cabin in Memorial Park) June—August 1 to 5 p.m. daily Fort McPherson Cabin (Cody Park) 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday afternoons Ogallala Front Street Cowboy Museum* Year-round Daily Trails Museum Summer Mansion on the Hill (Keith County Historical Society)* Summer Daily Omaha Joslyn Art Museum Year-round 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, except 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, closed Mondays and holidays Union Pacific Museum Year-round 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, closed Sundays ^ Osceola Polk County Historical Museum May—October Sunday afternoons _ Paxton Sod House Museum Summer _ Plattsmouth Cass County Historical Museum Irregular hours .___Ragan Pioneer Crossing Museum Summer Sunday afternoons Red Cloud Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial May 1—October 1 1 to 5 p.m. daily Webster County Historical Museum Summer Daily _ Rushwille Sheridan County Historical Museum Sargent Harold Grint Rock Museum By appointment George and Alice Kruml Rock Art Museum By appointment Warren Bomberger Antique Steam Engines By appointment _ Scottsbiuff-Gering See Gering-Scottsbluff above. Sidney Fort Sidney Post Commander's Home June 1—September 1 1 to 5 p.m. daily Cheyenne County Historical Museum 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays Springfield Spring Rock Countryside Museum and Rock Shop* Year-round 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday Stuart North Central Nebraska Historical Museum (White Horse Museum) Sutherland Broken Wheel Museum (Lincoln County Historical Society) Summer Afternoons daily Swedeburg Henry Martinson Collection Early-Day Farm Machinery By appointment Table Rock Little Country Schoolhouse Museum May 1—October 1 Daily Old Opera House Museum May 1—October 1 Daily Pioneer Museum May 1—October 1 Daily Tecumseh Johnson County Historical Society Museum By appointment ,__Trenton Hitchcock County Museum Valentine Sawyer's Sand Hills Museum May 30 to September 2 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily Cherry County Historical Museum Summer Months Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge Natural History Museum May—October 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily YVahoo Howard Hanson Home By appointment. Contact Mrs. Roy Swanson ^JYayne Wayne County Historical Museum By appointment Wilber Czech Museum Year-round 1:30 to evening Sundays or by appointment ------Wisner Wisner Historical Museum By appointment York Anna Bemis Palmer DAR Museum Year-round 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. Thursday, and Saturday, 7 to 9 p.m. Friday •Indicates free admission. Others are either unknown or fee is charged. Inquire locally for details on any museums listed.

Also at Gordon, the Sheridan County Historical Society has re-created an early-day trading post in its Store of Yesterday Museum. Open Thursday and Saturday afternoons from July through September, the country store is just one of three museums maintained by the society. Others are located in Rushville and Hay Springs.

Farther south at Sidney, the Cheyenne County Historical Association operates two museums. The Fort Sidney Post Commander's Home has been restored to the days when it housed the commandant of the frontier fort. It is open from 1 to 5 p.m. daily from June 1 through September 1. While the Cheyenne County Historical Museum is devoted primarily to the history of the county, it does contain an unusual display of law-enforcement items collected by W. W. (Bill) Schulz during his 37 years as Cheyenne County Sheriff. It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

At Trenton, the Hitchcock County Museum occupies a building which itself has a fascinating history. Built as the town's first bank in 1885, it served in that capacity until 1893, when it became the county courthouse. Vacated by the county in 1906, it then served as a creamery, dime store, and abstract office. In 1966, it was turned into a museum. The original bank vault is still intact. Other items include toys, china, clothing, iron and crockery utensils, collections of horseshoes, bridle bits, barbed wire, and Indian artifacts.

Perhaps the largest private museum, next to Harold Warp's Pioneer Village, is Merle Johnson's Fort Kearney Museum at Kearney. Among the 10,000 items on exhibit are odd, curious, historic, and unusual articles from throughout the world, ranging from ancient Egyptian mummies to Indian relics and other pioneer artifacts.

These are but a sampling of the fascinating bits of history you can find scattered across NEBRASKAland - all you need is the inclination.

THE END

FACE INTO THE WIND

(Continued from page 14)

world you can get out of it. Morry told me to stick my feet out and I did, but the slipstream kept pushing them back toward the tail of the craft.

"O.K., now," Morry coached. "Take hold of the strut."

I did with my left hand and put my right hand on the edge of the pilot's seat. Careful not to catch my reserve rip cord, I slid off the floor of the plane and waited until Morry tapped me. I let go. My heart went into more gyrations than a flying circus as the plane and I parted. I spreadeagled, arched my back with my head up, and got away in fine shape. My training came to my rescue and I started counting off the seconds.

My static line pulled open the pack. The pilot chute sprang out and before I reached the count of three I felt the reassuring jolt of the main chute. My ride would last at least 2 minutes instead of the 20 seconds that it takes to fall 2,800 feet without that all-important nylon.

It was an all-new, exhilarating world between sky and earth. As the plane's

JULY, 1968 53   travel the safe Hi • Lo way Down for Travel Up For Living Call these Nebraska dealers: Broken Bow: Robert Staub Curtis: A. C. Nelson Elwood: Vern's Trailer Sales Gering: Bradney's Trailers Gothenburg: Gothenburg Marine Holdrege: Darrel Thomsen Lexington: Ed's Sporting Shop Lincoln: Hansher Trailers McCook: Kenny Patton North Platte: Kenny Davis Ogallala: Dillion McQuay

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noise faded away, I was conscious of all the deep silence around me. With the clarity that comes after periods of utmost stress I began to liken the only noises about me to the creaking of a windmill at night. I was utterly free and surprised at how much fun I was having and how simple it was to jump. Then, I tried to look up at my chute, but I couldn't get my head up.

"Don't panic, Judy," I told myself. "You are all right. You have all the time in the world. Don't become unglued or you are going to have trouble."

The pilot chute had spun a bit on opening and my risers were twisted. Once again training took over. Trancelike, I reached up, calmly took hold of the risers, pulled them apart, and slowly unwound under the canopy. I had kept on counting and had reached one thousand eleven before really pulling myself together.

I laughingly scolded myself for being terrified. "Judy, how could you be so silly? There's nothing to it." I was going to show those calamity howlers back at the office.

So, I hung there and enjoyed the ride.

I had no sensation of falling, just a sensation of moving horizontally over the ground. It was a wonderful feeling. With my brimming confidence, I played with the toggle lines trying first to face into the wind and then to ride with it, but couldn't seem to make the parachute obey. It really didn't matter because I was in my own private heaven. All the way down, I kept wishing this soul-rebuilding ride would last for a couple of hours instead of just minutes.

All too soon, the descent was about to end and then I saw the trees, especially that one tree that was so darn immovable. I started cranking up the prayer machine again, but I didn't have time to get really persuasive.

Automatically I crossed my arms over my face and held my legs tight to avoid straddling a limb. Then came a miracle. A little late, but still a miracle. Instead of smacking the big limbs or smashing into the center bole, I came down through the soft, outer branches. The canopy and suspension lines caught high in the tree and let me down gently on a big limb. When the parachute caught, my body accelerated for a brief instant to more than 50 feet per second and the reserve chute fired. It was dragging on the ground below me and there I sat between and betwixt an awful lot of nylon.

Since I landed a long way from my intended drop zone, it took some time for those on the ground to reach me. Seeing their apprehensive faces as they came tearing up I hollered gleefully:

"I'm all right! I did it! I did it! That's the softest landing I'll probably ever make."

Although I was only some 15 feet above the ground, I was still a bit queasy about my feet not being on the ground. After unbuckling the harness, I inched toward the center of the tree and with some help managed to clamber down.

The chute and I had escaped damages, but Shorty insisted I go right back up and jump again. This time he jumpmastered me. Morry gave me a quick review of steering techniques, and they bundled 54 NEBRASKAland me into the plane. A couple of times I thought I heard some snide remarks about stupid girls trying to be parachutists, but I ignored them.

Do you know of an exciting or unusual true outdoor tale that has happened in Nebraska? If so, why don't you share the story with our readers? Just jot down the incident and send it to: Editor, NEBRASKAland Magazine, State Capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509.

Actually I was more nervous the second time. I reached for the strut, but when I slid off the floor of the plane my body weight pulled my hands off the strut and pilot's seat before Shorty could tap me. Again there was that sudden burst of ecstasy as I floated down and a real sense of accomplishment as I manipulated my toggle lines and felt the chute respond. I faced into the wind and with a confidence born of experience, I drifted earthward. I landed in a plowed field but my plf wasn't what it could have been. I had made better ones off the picnic table.

It felt good to just lie there and let the excitement drain away, but I remembered a cardinal rule of always jumping up and letting the ground crew know you are all right. If you get in the habit of goofing off, the crew might think you are just crying "wolf" for the heck of it and not rush to your rescue sometime when you really need help.

There are many, many more jumps in my future, but the date, April 10, 1968, is circled in big red letters on my calendar. That's the day I proved to one Judy Koepke that what Judy wants to do, Judy Koepke can do.

THE END

SAUGER FOR LUNCH

(Continued from page 29)

the water settles down in Fort Randall Dam and comes out clear. There aren't any feeder streams coming in to speak of until you get nearly to the Niobrara, so the water remains clear."

"Fishing is better now than it was before the dams went in," he continued. Years back it was mostly catfish. Now, you can catch white bass, especially in late May and early June, when they come up from Lewis and Clark Lake. Sauger fishing is good and walleye add to the stringer frequently."

'Does it taper off after spawning?"

"I feel the fishing is good as long as the river is open," my companion replied. "We have sauger and walleye now, and enough will stay in the river to offer good fishing all summer. Fall may not produce as many fish but you can hook some real tackle busters. Besides walleye and sauger, there are lots of channel cat and some flatheads. Drum, carp, skipjacks, sturgeon, and even an occasional northern pike help keep things interesting. The largest sauger I ever landed is a seven-pounder," the ardent fisherman went on.

"That is just about a pound short of the record fish that was taken down by the Niobrara nearly seven years ago, isn't it?"

"Yes," he continued. "I think the record is 8 pounds, 5 ounces. That's not only a state record, but an international one. No doubt, the record will be broken here on the Missouri again. Years ago I saw a sauger taken out of the river that tipped the scales at some nine pounds, but that was before records were kept.

"With that in mind," I said, "let's get back to the fishing. Maybe we can hook one for the record."

"Let's try a little drift fishing," Hank suggested, as we headed out into the river. "It's effective at times with minnows or crawlers."

Cutting the motor within a few yards of the west shore, we dropped our minnow-baited hooks into the water. The boat was drifting back fast enough so that 30 feet of line stayed upstream.

"Best combination to drift with is to rig your line with the sinker on the end and a couple of droppers about 18 inches apart. That way you can feel the bottom with the sinker while keeping your line tight enough to prevent snagging," my partner said.

The current carried us for nearly a half mile. Outside of a couple of snags, we had no action. Suddenly, I felt the thump of a taking fish. He hit the minnow three or four times before I was able to set the hook.

"Try letting out some line as soon as you feel a strike," my instructor coached. "It gives a sauger a chance to take the bait rather than chasing it downstream."

After nearly a mile of drifting, we started the motor and went back upstream for another try. We had gone less than 200 yards when Hank called, "Strike", and fed out some slack line. He waited a few seconds until the line tightened, felt the fish again, and set the hook. A minute or two later, a two-pounder came splashing into the waiting net.

"One nice thing about this drift fishing," I said, "you don't have to reel in your line every time the other guy gets a strike. Besides, it catches fish."

We completed another drift without any fish to show for it, so my companion suggested we troll back upstream. Rigging our terminal gear for this, we were soon back in business, trolling a deep, slick run near the west bank.

"Fish on," Hank called, within the first hundred yards. "Keep your line in. Maybe I can land him without stopping the motor. He doesn't feel very big."

Before the one-pounder was finally hauled over the side, the fish put on a good show, thanks to the current and the moving boat. Our craft had swung somewhat off course while my partner was landing his fish. Noting some slack in my lines, I reeled up until I felt a steady pull again. It was then I felt the sharp tug of a taking fish.

"Try that maneuver again, it pays off," I chuckled, playing the sauger. "I must have let the bait down along the bottom where the fish are."

By using the pump-crank method, I gained 20 yards before the fish decided to head for the opposite shore. Then the current managed to take back everything I had gained, despite the protest of my spinning reel.

JULY, 1968 55  

This sauger's run was his only one, however, and I finally winched the fish alongside and scooped him aboard with the landing net.

"Sure thought he was bigger than that," I said, hefting the fish. 'He isn't much over two pounds."

"He's average or a little above for these spring-run fish," my partner explained. "September and October are the months when you can get the really big ones. Really don't know why, but it's been that way ever since I've fished the Missouri."

We were surprised that the afternoon had so quickly slipped away but lengthing shadows from the bluffs told us it was time to go. A pair of blue herons flapped lazily upriver, perhaps to an evening fishing spot of their own. Our stringers held another seven sauger for our afternoon efforts. Reeling in our lines, we headed for the landing and back to the reality of making a living.

While loading the boat, Hank informed me that we were at what the locals call the Old Iron Post Landing. He explained that before the advent of a bridge in the area, a ferry once plied the currents between Nebraska and South Dakota and used the landing. Times have changed, as have the river and fishing. But, much to our pleasure, it is all for the better.

THE END WHERE THE CROWD GOBS IN OMAHA! In the LAZY LEOPARD LOUNGE

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LEG OF DUCK

(Continued from page 31)

produced a total of 64. In addition, to this, almost 1,000 Canada and white-fronted geese have been banded since 1952 along with 470 snows.

Waterfowl management is often quite complicated, and band recoveries certainly help to put the pieces together. For example, a ratio of young to old can be obtained from wing surveys, but this doesn't truly represent the age ratio because of differential vulnerability.

This is a mouthful which means that young ducks are easier to shoot than old ones. Due to several factors this varies from year to year, so the summer and pre-season band records are used to determine the differential vulnerability. This is used as a correction factor and applied to the wing-collection age-ratio data. The result is a more reliable age-ratio figure for biologists to work with.

For some species, use of band-recovery data is used to indirectly estimate and reconstruct pre-season populations. It also checks on the accuracy of breeding-ground surveys and the effects of various regulations on harvest rates.

The primary problem in banding is getting enough birds to make the effort worthwhile and later recoveries meaningful.

Three techniques are used in summer banding-drive trapping, pothole catching by hand, and night lighting. Efforts begin as soon as broods reach bandable size, while many adults in flightless summer molt are also captured.

In drive trapping, a large funnel trap, ordinarily of net, is placed in position across a body of water. Two long wing nets extend from both sides of the trap. Wading men push the ducks toward the trap and the (Continued on page 58)

56 NEBRASKAland

NEBRASKAland TRADING POST

Classified Ads: 15 cents a word, minimum order $3. October 1968 closing date, August 1. DECOYS SOLID PLASTIC DECOYS. Original Do-It-Yourself Decoy Making Kit. All Species Available. Catalog 25 cents. Decoys Unlimited, Box 69E, Clinton, Iowa 52732. DOGS AKC Weimaraner pups, champion blooded, hunters, priced reasonable, Bob Blankenaus Weimaraners, Dodge, Nebraska 68633. HUNTING DOGS: German Shorthairs, English Pointers. Weimaraners, English, Irish, and Gordon Setters, Chesapeakes, Labradors, and Golden Retrievers. Registered pups, all ages, $50 each. Robert Stevenson, Orleans, Nebraska. ENGLISH POINTERS. Excellent gun dogs. Pups, dogs, and stud service. M. D. Mathews, M.D., St. Paul, Nebraska 68873. ALL BREEDS—Sold—Bought. Excalibur Kennels and Cattery, 40th and Cuming, Omaha, Nebraska 68104. Bird-dog specialists. We ship. AMERICAN Water Spaniels^-AKC Registered—Natural-born hunters and retrievers. M. B. Worley, 2604 South Royce, Sioux City, Iowa. AKC BLACK LABRADORS: Natural retrievers. Finest working blood lines. Kewanee Retrievers, Everett Bristol, Valentine, Nebraska 69201. Phone: 376-2539. BRITTANY SPANIEL PUPS, AKC registered, Field champion bloodlines. Pups show a lot of color. Leslie and Clinton Smith, RFD 2, Box 11, West Point, Nebraska 68788, Phone 372-3913. BLACK LABS: AKC registered. Big powerful dogs with excellent blood lines. Write for details. Gary Ralston, Conservation Officer, Creighton, Nebraska. FISH BAIT DEALERS: We have Canadian crawlers for sale. Shipped anywhere within 300 miles. Write for full information and price quotations. Wisner's Sporting Goods, Fremont, Nebraska 68025. FISHERMAN'S DREAM: Amazing worm lure brings worms (even big night crawlers) out of the ground in 1 to 4 minutes. Harmless to plants, pets, children, even worms. $1.25 postpaid. Del's Enterprises, 1319 O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508. RED WIGGLERS, Bait size, Postpaid, 1,000—$4.00; 5,000—$17.50. Craig's Worms, 3424 North 67th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68507. FOR SALE FIBERGLASS CANOES, Three exciting models. Easily assembled kits. $34.95 up (Factory direct). Free Literature. Riverside Canoes, Box 5595U, Riverside, California 92507. GUNS AND AMMO NEW, USED, ANTIQUE GUNS. Send long addressed 15 cents stamped envelope for list, or stop in. Bedlan's Sporting Goods, Fairbury, Nebraska 68352. MISCELLANEOUS STONEGROUND CORNMEAL. Most complete line Health Foods. Many processed daily. Come see us or write. Brownville Mills, Brownville, Nebraska. LAND WANTED: Private individual wants cheap, undeveloped land, River or stream. Closer Omaha, the better. Laurence, Box 14037, Omaha, 68114. WHOLESALE PRICES SCOPES, reload tools Leupold 3x9 variable scope, regularly $89.50—^$62.50. Leupold 2x7 variable scope, regularly $79.50—$55.75. R.C.B.S. Reload special with dies $29.50. R.C.B.S. dies most calibers $10.80. New Rock-chucker reload press only. Regularly $52.50—$39.00 Lee Loaders $7.35. We are one of the largest shooting supply houses in U.S.A. Aztec Hunting Lodge, 270 West Ave., Tallmadge, Ohio. AUTOMOBILE BUMPER STICKERS. Low-cost advertising for special events, community projects, political campaigns, slogans, business, tourist, and entertainment attractions. Write for free brochure, price list and samples. Please state intended use. Reflective Advertising, Dept. N, 873 Longacre, St. Louis, Missouri 63132. LOSING HAIR? Balding? Dandruff? Free copy-righted booklet. Dr. Shiffer Laboratories, Euclid Arcade, Cleveland, Ohio 44115. FOR THE BEST BUYS in Mobile Homes, Travel Trailers, Motor Buses, see ROUSH MOBILE HOMES INC.—No one beats a Roush Deal. Grand Island, Nebraska. PANELISTS AT HOME WANTED by New York Researcher. Leading research firm seeking people to furnish honest opinions by mail from home. Pays cash for all opinions rendered. Clients' products supplied at no cost. For information write: Research 669, Mineola, New York 11501, Dept. J. PRIZE WINNING: Permanent match. This remarkable device lasts for years, furnishes 10,000 lights. Has no moving parts to wear out. Completely weather and waterproof. Fits any key chain. $1 postpaid. Perrot's, 12461-M Meade, Garden Grove, California 92641. PHEASANT HUNTERS: Separate modern farm home accommodates 12. Exclusive rights to more than 1,000 acres of land. Meals served. For further information write to: Van's Hunting Lodge, Mrs. Paul Van Ert, Meadow Grove, Nebraska. Phone 634-2329. SCUBA EQUIPMENT BOB-K'S AQUA SUPPLY Nebraska's largest Scuba dealer. U. S. Divers, Sportways, Voit, Swimmaster, Scubrapro. Air Station, Regulator Repair. Telephone 553-9483, 1419 South 46 Avenue, Omaha, Nebraska. TAXIDERMY FISH MOUNTING A SPECIALTY—Crappie, bass, trout, walleye. Northerns and other trophy fish. Two-to-three-week delivery until fall. Twenty years experience. Livingston Taxidermy, Mitchell, Nebraska. TAXIDERMY WORK. All new, modern shop. Floyd Houser, Sutherland, Nebraska 69165. Phone 386-4780. KARL SCHWARZ Master Taxidermists. Mounting of game heads - Birds - Fish - Animals - Fur rugs - Robes - Tanning buckskin. Since 1910. 424 South 13th Street, Dept. A., Omaha, Nebraska 68102. CREATIVE TAXIDERMY—Since 1935. Modern methods and lifelike workmanship on all fish and game, antler mounts, tanning, and deerskin products. Joe Voges, Nafurecrafts, 925 4th Corso, Nebraska City, Nebraska. Phone: 873-5491 GAME heads and fish mounting. Forty years experience. Cleo Christiansen, Taxidermist, 421 South Monroe Street, Kimball, Nebraska 69145. TRAPS COLLAPSIBLE Farm-Pond Fish Traps; Animal TrapSo^P?ste1i Free information, pictures, Shawnee, 3934-AX Buena Vista, Dallas 4, Texas. FISH TRAPS, collapsible. Pond-lake types. Animal, bird traps. Free catalog and trapping secrets. Sensitronix, 2225-F63 Lou Ellen, Houston, Texas 77018. LIVE TRAPS. All sizes, mouse to dog. Also fish, sparrow, turtle, and other traps. World's largest selection. Free catalog. Sensitronix, 2225-MC27, Lou Ellen, Houston, Texas 77018. VACATIONS LAKE MCCONAUGHY on the south side. Cabins, modern and semi-modern, cafe, camping, groceries, bait and tackle. We have pontoons and fishing boats for rent guide service with reservations, and a half-mile lighted turf. For more information contact the VanBorkum's at Lakeview Fishing Camp Route # 1, Brule, Nebraska 69127. Phone 284-4965 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland of the Air Dick H. Schaffer KGFW, KRG1, WOW, KMMJ, KXXX. KBRL, KAMI, KMA, KODY, KIMS, KIMB, KVSH, XOGA, KICX, KFOR, KNLV, KCNI, KUVR, KAWL, KNCY, KRVN, KTNC, KCOW, KSID, WJAG, KHUB, KTCH. KBRB, kc) SUNDAY Kearney (1340 kc) Grand Island (1430 Omaha (590 kc) ........... Grand Island (750 kc) ... Colby, Kan. (790 kc) ..... McCook (1300 kc) ........... Coxad (1580 kc) ............. Shenandoah, la. (960 kc) North Platte (1240 kc) ... Lincoln (1480 kc) ............. Kimball (1260 kc)........... Valentine (940 kc)........... Ogallala (930 kc)............. McCook (1000 kc) ........... Lincoln (1240 kc)............. Ord (1060 kc)................. Broken Bow (1280 kc) ..... Holdrege (1380 kc) ......... York (1370 kc)............ Nebraska City (1600 kc) Lexington (1010 kc) ......... Falls City (1230 kc)....... Alliance (1400 kc)........... , 7 . 7 . 7 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 9 .10 .10 .11 .11 .12 .12 .12 .12 .12 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 5 . 5 . 5 . 7 05 a.m. 40 a.m. 40 a.m. 40 a.m. 00 a.m. 45 a.m. 45 a.m. 00 a.m. 45 a.m. 00 a.m. 15 a.m. 00 Noon 30 p.m, 40 p.m. 45 p.m. 45 p.m. 15 p.m. 45 p»m, 30 p.m. 00 p.m. 40 p.m. 45 p.m. 00 p.m. MONDAY Sidney (1340 kc) . KICS, KJSK, KCSR, KGMT, KHAS, KRFS, KBRX, KMNS. KJSK-FM, .......... 6:30 p.m. FRIDAY Norfolk (780 kc) ................ 4:15 p.m. Fremont (1340 kc).............. 5:15 p.m. Wayne (1590 kc)................ 5:45 p.m. Ainsworth (1400 kc) .......... 6:00 p.m. SATURDAY Hastings (1550 kc) ........ 8:00 a.m. Columbus (900 kc)..........10:45 a.m. Chadron (610 kc)............11:45 a.m. Fairbury (1310 kc) ..........12:45 p.m. Hastings (1230 kc) ........ 1:00 p.m. Superior (1600 kc) ........ 1:00 p.m. O'Neill (1350 kc) ............ 4:30 p.m. Sioux City, la. (620 kc). 6:10 p.m. Columbus (101.1 mc) ...... 9:40 p.vn. DIVISION CHIEFS Wlllard R. Barbee, assistant director C. Phillip Agee, research William J. Bailey Jr., federal aid Glen R. Foster, fisheries Carl E. Geitmann, enforcement Jack Hanna, budget and fiscal Dick H. Schaffer, information and tourism Richard J. Spady, land management Lloyd Steen, personnel Jack D. Strain, parks Lloyd P. Vance, game CONSERVATION OFFICERS Chief, Can E. Gettmann, Lincoln Ainsworth—Max Showalter, 387-1960 Albion—Gary L. Baltz, 395-2516 Alliance—Marvin Busslnger, 762-5517 Alliance—Richard Furiey, 762-2024 Alma—William F. Bonsall, 928-2313 Arapahoe—Don Schaepler, 962-7818 Auburn—Mmes Newcome, 274-2061 Bassett—Leonard Spoering, 684-3645 Benkelman—H. Lee Bowers, 423-2893 Bridgeport—Joe UI rich, 100 Broken Bow—Gene Jeffries, 872-5953 Columbus—Lyman Wilkinson, 564-4375 Crawford—Cecil Avey, 228 Creighton—Gary R. Ralston, 425 Crete—Roy E. Owen, 826-2772 Crofton—John Schuckman, 388-4421 David City—Lester H. Johnson, 367-4037 Fairbury—Larry Bauman, 729-3734 Fremont—Andy Nielsen, 721-2482 Gering—Jim McCole, 436-2686 Grand Island—Fred Saiak, 384-0582 Hastings—Bruce Wiebe, 462-8317 Hay Springs—Larry D. Elston, 638-4051 Kearney—Ed Greving, 237-5753 Lexington—Robert D. Patrick, 324-2138 Lincoln—Leroy Orvis, 488-1663 Lincoln—Norbert Kampsnider, 466-0971 Long Pine—William O. Anderson, 273-4406 Milford—Dale Bruha, 761-4531 Norfolk—Robert Downing, 371-2675 North Platte—Samuel Grasmick, 532-9546 North Platte—Roger A. Guenther, 532-2220 Oaallala—Jack Morgan, 284-3425 Omaha—Dwight Allbery, 558-2910 O'Neill—Kenneth L. Adkisson, 336-3000 Ord—Gerald Woodgate, 728-5060 Oshkosh—Donald D. Hunt, 772-3697 Ponca—Richard D. Turpin, 7913 Sidney—Raymond Frandsen, 254-4438 Syracuse—Mick Gray, 269-3143 Tekamah—Richard Elston, 374-1698 Thedford—John Henderson, 645-5351 Valentine—Elvin Zimmerman, 376-3674 Valley—Bill Earnest, 359-2332 Winside—Marion Shafer, 286-4290 York—Gail Woodside, 362-4120 JULY, 1968 57

LEG OF DUCK

(Continued from page 56)

wings help guide the birds into it. In recent winters, this technique has been used successfully at night. Ducks are less spooky then and even fully-feathered birds can be trapped.

In an older method, ducklings and the molting adults are simply pushed out onto land at one end of a pothole where the birds are caught by hand or with a dip net. Good retrieving dogs help when ducklings begin their aquatic hide-and-seek.

A more recent and still somewhat experimental method is night lighting. This technique uses a shallow-draft boat a generator, and a movable, high-intensity spotlight. Molting ducks, especially mallards and teal, and their broods can be approached closely when light dazzled and can be boated with a dip net. This method works well on water too large to drive trap.

After trapping, the birds are identified as to species, and data on sex, age, and location is recorded. That done, the bird is banded with the F&W Service bracelet and released. If the band is ever recovered, it is relatively easy to check back and get some idea of his past history.

Mallards and geese are prime targets for winter banding. Bait traps, cannon nets, and night-drive trapping are all used. Bait traps are wire-mesh structures, which utilize a one-way-only entrance. Corn or other grains entice the birds into the traps. These devices require constant checking and rebaiting and are most effective where heavy duck concentrations exist. Perhaps the most exciting technique of all is cannon netting. A long net is strung out in a baited area. When there is a sufficient number of waterfowl in the area a detonator sets off several simultaneous charges. Pipe-like objects attached to the forward edge of the net carry it over the unsuspecting birds.

Will banding always have a place in waterfowl management? Yes, and as surely as past operations have helped to keep our waterfowl heritage for today, banding today and tomorrow will provide hope for future generations.

True, waterfowl hunting is not what it used to be. Draining of millions of acres of wetlands, drought, pesticides, lead poisoning, increased hunting pressure, and the encroachment of civilization add up to a reduction in waterfowl that can't be regained, but many authorities are optimistic that we can regain a waterfowl population similar to those of the mid-1950's. Even so, an increase in hunters will necessarily result in a smaller harvest per man.

There is much which can be done to insure our waterfowl heritage. Along with obeying regulations, and supporting habitat restoration programs, hunters should return all bands so that biologists can effectively measure the success of their controls. Reporting band details is a part of every hunter's responsibility. If he doesn't meet it, waterfowling for him and his children may become just a memory.

THE END

WHERE-TO-GO

Cody Park, Burchard Lake

BUFFALO BILL COUNTRY was once the land of untamed western excitement, but today a small chunk of this land is a peaceful green park named after the scout and showman himself. Cody Park, which borders the north edge of North Platte on U.S. Highway 83, has become a perfect out-of-doors haven for relaxation and recreation.

History in the form of the Fort McPherson Cabin comes to life in the park. This small museum, property of the Lincoln County Historical Society, is open in nice weather from 1 to 5 on Sunday afternoons. Artifacts of the fort remind visitors of the days of smoldering Indian wars and of Bill Cody who rode into Fort McPherson as a young scout. Another landmark, the birthplace of William M. Jeffers, past president of the Union Pacific Railroad, stands on the park grounds.

Known for its grassy land and bountiful trees, the 100-acre park also boasts plenty of water. The Platte River runs along one edge and provides water fun for the entire family. As many as 70 campers can enjoy free facilities along the river's sandy banks. This spot is also excellent as a picnic area. Another water haven is a large lake in the middle of the park which attracts small-fry anglers. Native waterfowl add a splash of color to its waters.

Cody Park's water fun does not stop with the Platte River or the lake. All ages are drawn to the park's swimming pool. From a cool dip on a hot day to splish-splash fun, the pool provides everyone with just the right amount of exercise.

For the more active, the park boasts eight hard-surfaced tennis courts, six baseball diamonds, and one softball field. For the less rigorous, there are horseshoes, croquet, volleyball, archery, and shuffleboard. Shelters, scattered through the park, are handy for picnickers, while youth groups find the special youth cabin great for group parties or get-togethers.

Children will find the park playground a wonderland where they can scoot down slippery slides or swing high in the sky. Privately-owned carnival rides at low rates also bring squeals of excitement, from the youngsters.

Visitors can tarry awhile at the park's wildlife refuge with its native birds and animals. Deer and antelope still roam on the historic ground. This refuge will soon be expanded into a new $300,000 storybook zoo to be built as an extension to the park.

Another great recreation spot is Burchard Lake State Special-Use Area, located 3 miles east and IY2 miles north of Burchard. This artificial lake was formed by a rock-fill dam that backs the water up in a 160-acre spread. Two arms sprawl out in a rough "V" from the main pool to give the lake an atmosphere of seclusion.

Burchard Lake is tops in southeast Nebraska angling. Besides bass, the lake has bluegill, northern pike, catfish, green sunfish, and bullhead.

But this lake is not only famed for fishing. Close to eastern Nebraska population centers, it is a favorite recreation spot for thousands. Camping and picnic facilities are available. Visitors, stretched out under a shade tree or basking in the warm sun, find the shoreline an ideal place to relax. Fishermen can use boats limited to five miles per hour. The area is closed to all activity except bank fishing from the dam during the waterfowl hunting seasons.

This 560-acre area is also rich with wildlife. The lake attracts plenty of waterfowl, but this is only one small part of the total wildlife picture. The land surrounding the lake is lush natural woods and grasslands. Hikers enjoy tramping through this area and looking for prairie chickens, bobwhites, and squirrels.

Osage orange trees, sometimes called hedge apples, abound in this vicinity. Squirrels gathering seeds from the hedge apples are a constant delight to those visiting the area during the colder months.

Although Cody Park is almost in the center of NEBRASKAland and Burchard Lake is in the east, both share a common purpose. They provide wholesome family fun for all.

THE END 58 NEBRASKAland